Production Resumes at 2 Stopped Toyota Plants

02/10/97

Kyodo reports that Toyota resumed production Thursday at two of its plants where automaking had been suspended due to a fire at a brake plant that supplied the company with essential parts. The fire two weekends ago destroyed a brake plant operated by Toyota affiliate Aisin Seiki Co. and forced Toyota to shut down about 90% of its domestic production by Tuesday of last week.

The two plants that Toyota has reopened are its factory in Aichi Prefecture and a Hino Motors-run plant in Hamura, Tokyo. The Tawara factory builds Hilux Surf and Plado sport-utility vehicles, Hino's Hamura factory assembles Hilux Surfs.

Before the fire, the Aisin Seiki brake plant supplied Toyota with 100% of the proportioning valves it used in its vehicles. Proportioning valves adjust the pressure applied to both front and rear wheels during braking.

Toyota officials said they hoped their factories would return to normal production levels by Friday of last week. Toyota normally produces some 15,000 motor vehicles a day in Japan. The company started reducing production on Monday of last week. Ultimately only a few factories, were unaffected. The shortage did not stop production of the company's Town Ace Noah and Lite Ace Noah sport-utility vehicles.

Mitsubishi Motors also felt the effects of the brake plant fire, and was forced to suspend production of its Diamante luxury sedans at its Oe factory in Nagoya on Thursday.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel