Nearly all of Toyota’s Japanese manufacturing and assembly plants stopped the production process because of the recent deadly earthquakes in Japan. A large number of the automaker’s SUVs and crossovers will not be temporarily produced and, as a result, there will also be a pause in Toyota exports.
The plant shutdown results in the suspension of production of popular SUVs like the Lexus RX, NX, GX, and LX, as well as the Toyota RAV4, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser. Toyota cars are affected as well, with production halts for the Lexus ES, LS, IS, and GS sedans, alongside the RC coupe.
The stoppage comes as a result of key suppliers interrupted by the natural disaster, the plants themselves are unaffected by the quakes. The stoppages could potentially cause a 56,000 deficit in vehicle production for Toyota and Lexus, with an estimated $277 million lost. This is the second shutdown this year for Toyota, the first caused by an explosion in a steel factory that caused a production pause in February.
Anyhow, this stoppage comes at a rather inopportune time, as the Japanese automaker hopes to increase crossover and SUV sales in the U.S., where Toyota’s sales volume slipped to 569,079 cars sold through March, a 1.1 percent decrease over last year.
