Toyota to resume production of Prius

Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, announced that it will begin manufacturing the popular Prius and other hybrid vehicles which are in demand, but will suspend production of other cars until May. A Toyota official said that, “For the time being, we will produce the vehicles by cautiously confirming parts supply.” The volume of cars is expected to be smaller than usual. Honda Motor Co. announced it will not be resuming automotive manufacturing due to parts supply problems, but will resume the manufacture of motorcycles and other products. Repairs at Honda’s research and development center in Tochigi Prefecture is expected to take several months, so functions from that center will be shifted to other offices. Nissan Motor Co. will be resuming all operations at its vehicle assembly plants by April 11, operating at about 50% capacity. All three major automakers have been affected by problems in their supply chains since the Magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami on March 11. It is reported that Mazda Motor Corp., Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and Daihatsu Motor Co. will continue to assemble vehicles using stock components. Hino Motors Ltd. is assembling cars on a trial basis and Fuji Heavy Industries has extended product suspension. (March 24-25, 2011)