Toyota said on Wednesday it would halt operations at three plants in southern Japan through Friday as it weighed the impact of an earthquake on suppliers and logistics, just hours after resuming production stopped the previous day.
Tuesday's 7.1-magnitude quake in the prefecture of Kumamoto damaged roads and knocked out power to thousands of homes, raising concerns about supply chains and logistics and affecting other manufacturers besides Toyota.
"The situation, including aftershocks and recovery efforts, is changing daily," the world's biggest automaker said in a statement about the suspensions at its Miyata, Kanda and Kokura plants from Wednesday until July 31.
"We will continue to prioritise safety above all else."
Toyota makes a wide range of Lexus luxury models at its Miyata plant, which has an annual production capacity of about 430,000 vehicles, and hybrid car units and engines at the other two.
Honda Motor said it would extend an operation suspension at its Kumamoto motorcycle plant, also until Friday, to allow repairs to quake-damaged parts of the factory.
Chipmaker Renesas said it halted operations at two plants in Kumamoto as it investigated the impact on equipment.
Nissan said it had no plans for a suspension at its plant in Fukuoka, north of Kumamoto, where it makes the Rogue SUV, known locally as the X-Trail, but added that it was monitoring its supplier and logistics situation.
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