Toyota plans to shut its plants in Japan amid Earthquake

Toyota Motors is planning to shut down most of its plants in Japan in the upcoming days due to the parts shortage caused by the earthquake that hit eastern Japan on Wednesday. 

The carmaker said that some of its suppliers were affected by the quake and are unable to deliver enough parts to continue the production. One of the major microchip manufacturers Renesas Electronics Corp has also said that its plant which is in the quake area is unable to back full production until Wednesday next week.

The shortages caused by the closure of Covid19-related factories was exacerbated by congestion in the shipping industry and various disasters. Volkswagen AG CEO Herbert Diess said on Tuesday that the war in Ukraine could upset the company's expectations this year.

Meanwhile, car shortages as a result of the industry-wide supply chain crisis have pushed the prices up. The announcement on Friday could exacerbate the problem as it will affect the production of some of Toyota's most popular models, including the RAV4 SUV.

Even as different automobile makers started out to warn of a worsening elements shortage, Toyota caught to its annual manufacturing goal of nine million vehicles. That modified unexpectedly in January while the organisation introduced six manufacturing cuts in a single month.

Earlier this week, Toyota blamed global supply shortages before the quake exacerbated the situation and announced a cut in production in March. Between the previously announced shutdown and Friday's announcement, Toyota expects to produce 50,000 fewer cars.