Toyota restarts production in Thailand

Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. resumed production at all three plants on Monday, a state-run media MCOT reported. Toyota has been forced to suspend its production since floods submerged all its three plants in central Samut Prakarn and Chachoengsao provinces on October 10. The three plants manufacture about 10 models of pickup trucks and sedans with a total output of 630,000 units last year. Other Japanese automakers Nissan Motor Thailand, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Mazda Motor Corp, and Hino Motors resumed production last week while Isuzu Motors Co., Ltd. also resumed on Monday. It has been expected that those Japanese automakers could fully resume their normal operation after some time as parts shortage remains. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is the only Japanese carmaker which could not restart its operation as its plant in Rojana Industrial Estate in Ayutthaya remain submerged. All eight Japanese automakers have halted their production in Thailand since October as the worst inundation in over five decades not only hit auto industry in the country but also disrupted global supply chains.