“Queen Sapphire/WWL” delivering Toyota and Lexus vehicles from Japan at Zeebrugge, Belgium.
An explosion that occurred last month at an Aichi Steel Corporation manufacturing facility has resulted in Toyota Motor Corporation stopping all production on its vehicle assembly lines within Japan from 8 February through 13. Vehicle production on lines outside Japan will continue in operation. What this means to the global sales race for Number One with GM and VW is not clear.
In addition, production at all of TMC’s directly owned and operated plants within Japan, including those producing components and parts, will also be suspended for the duration of February 8, which will be counted as a holiday.
At the moment manufacturing is scheduled to resume on 15 February. Toyota in a statement said it would continue to “take any measures necessary to minimize the impact of this incident on vehicle production.”
This means that Toyota might use alternate lines operated by Aichi Steel and buy from other steelmakers – heresy for a Japanese automaker to abandon a member of its keiretsu.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
