Toyota halts its three Thailand plants as COVID-19 spread hits parts supply

Nagoya – Toyota Motor Corp. has suspended operations at all three of its plants in Thailand through next Wednesday due to a shortage of parts, after the latest COVID-19 outbreak forced an auto-parts plant in the country to shut down, company officials have said.

The three Toyota plants in Thailand, which are located in the suburbs of Bangkok and have a combined output capacity of 760,000 units per year, serve as key production bases for the Japanese carmaker in Southeast Asia.

Toyota has yet to decide whether operations at the three plants will resume on July 29. It will take into account the COVID-19 infection rate in the area when determining whether to resume operations or extend the suspension further, the officials said.

The automaker also announced the same day that it will suspend part of production at its affiliate’s plant in Aichi Prefecture for a total of five days…