Toyota halts Japan plants after reported cyber attack

Tokyo

JAPANESE carmaker Toyota said on Monday (Feb 28) it was halting operations at all its domestic plants for a day after a reported cyber attack on a parts supplier.

"Due to a system failure at a supplier in Japan, we have decided to suspend the operation of 28 lines at all 14 domestic plants on March 1 (for both 1st and 2nd shift)," the world's top-selling carmaker said in a statement.

Toyota confirmed the supplier involved was Kojima Industries, which manufactures plastic parts, but declined to comment on a report by the Nikkei newspaper that the disruption was caused by a cyber attack. The newspaper cited a source close to the firm as confirming a cyber attack and saying an assessment of the damage done was being undertaken.

The Toyota spokeswoman said that the stoppage - which for now will last a day, with the situation to be assessed again on Tuesday - would affect production of 13,000 vehicles.

The suspected attack comes with nations that have imposed sanctions on Russia over its Ukraine invasion on high alert over possible retaliatory cyber attacks.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, asked about whether the attack could be linked to Japan's sanctions on Moscow, said the "government is also trying to ascertain the situation on this point". "It's hard to answer without thoroughly checking," he added.

Toyota has already been forced to adjust production goals because of pandemic-related supply chain issues and the global chip crisis.

But the car giant was able to retain its crown as the world's top-selling carmaker in 2021 and earlier last month posted a forecast-beating quarterly net profit despite the tough production environment.

It did, however, slightly lower its production projection for the year to 8.5 million units from nine million, having already slashed the goal from an earlier 9.3 million in November. AFP