Toyota suspends Japan production after cyber attack

Toyota suspended operations at their facilities several times last year due to parts shortages. As a result, there is now a long waitlist for some of their most popular models. The Land Cruiser 300 and the new Lexus LX, for example, even have a 4-year waiting period in Japan. Even customers in the Philippines have to queue up for the new SUV.

Now there’s more bad news. Toyota has announced that it will temporarily shut down all 28 lines at its 14 Japanese production plants today, March 1, 2022. The temporary shut was not due to a parts shortage this time around. The automaker says the pause in production is due to a “system failure” at a domestic supplier, Kojima Industries Corporation. While Toyota didn’t expound any further, it seems there is more to the story.

According to a report by Reuters, the alleged “system failure” at Kojima Industries Corporation is suspected to be a cyber attack. However, it is still uncertain who is responsible for the attack on the supplier. The Japanese government and law enforcement agencies said they will be investigating the incident.

Today’s shutdown will affect Toyota’s production output by around 13,000 vehicles. Worse yet, the automaker is not certain whether operations will resume on Wednesday. Toyota uses the just-in-time manufacturing system with parts from suppliers going straight to the assembly line rather than being stockpiled. That said, if Kojima Industries Corporation cannot resume operations then chances are production will continue to be halted.

The shutdown of all 14 plants is bad news for Toyota and its customers. That means those waiting for a brand new vehicle will have to wait a bit longer before their unit arrives. So if you have a Land Cruiser 300 or LX on order, better be extra patient.