Toyota halts production of its best-selling SUV after Covid-19 hits supply chain

Covid-19 has hit Toyota Motor's production, not only in India, but in other parts of the world too. After the Japanese carmaker decided to suspend production at its Bidadi plant in India to carry out an annual maintenance program between April 26 and May 14, three plants in the Canada and United States have also been shut temporarily due to supply issues.

According to reports, Toyota's facilities in Ontario had to be shut down after one of its suppliers Toyotetsu reported eight of its employees testing positive for Covid-19. The supplier had to shut down its operation due to this reason, impacting the Toyota facilities.

Toyotetsu took to social media to announce the immediate closure of its facility after the employees reported positive. According to the supplier, the health officials have "notified about eight positive cases amongst 1,200 employees over the past few weeks. The vast majority of these cases have not been linked to on-site transmission. We’re continuing to follow the guidance of public health officials. For this reason, and out of an abundance of caution, we’ve decided to temporarily pause our operations."

Toyotetsu is one of the key suppliers for the Japanese carmaker in Canada, United States as well as parts of Europe and Asia. It is responsible for supplying key components for Toyota's global best-selling model RAV4 SUV like brake pedals, hood locks, radiator supports and rear suspension components. It also supplies key components for Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h.

The Toyota facilities that were impacted by this incident are located in Ontario, Canada and Texas in the United States. Last week, Toyota India also decided to put a halt to production at its Bidadi plant in Karnataka. Though the government has imposed vert strict lockdown-like curfew across the state, Toyota did not show that as the reason to temporarily suspend work.