According to media reports, Toyota Motor Corporation announced on February 23 that the continued suspension of production on two production lines at two factories operated by the group in Japan will be extended until March 1 this year.
The production lines have been halted since January 29 when media reports revealed violations in certification tests by its affiliated company, Toyota Industries. Toyota will decide on March 1 whether to reopen these two production lines from March 4 (Monday).
Toyota Body Co., Ltd.'s Inabe Plant in Mie Prefecture and Gifu Body Industries Co., Ltd.'s headquarters in Gifu Prefecture will each continue to suspend production on one production line. The former is responsible for producing Alphard and Vellfire minivans, while the latter is responsible for producing HiAce vans.
Earlier media reports stated that a special investigation committee found irregularities in the power output tests of three diesel engines under Toyota Industries. Toyota stated that 10 vehicle models globally use the affected engines, including the Hiace van, SUV model Fortuner, Innova multipurpose vehicle, and Lexus LX500D model.
Toyota stated that it has sought to explain the matter to relevant authorities and will take necessary measures, such as conducting new engine certification tests in the presence of regulatory agencies. Earlier this year, Toyota Motor Corporation CEO Koji Sato stated that the company uses 36,000 affected engines globally per month, equivalent to 432,000 engines per year.
