Toyota announced the reason for the shutdown of assembly plants

Toyota, the world’s leading automobile manufacturer, recently suspended operations across 28 production lines in 14 of its domestic factories at the end of August. Contrary to the presumption of waning demand due to emerging electric vehicle competitors, the halt was precipitated by server failures stemming from inadequate disk capacity.

In their official press release, Toyota attributed the disruption to a malfunction within their “production order system”, a critical tool responsible for overseeing the supply of components on the production line. In the days leading up to the shutdown, system servers exhibited anomalies. The main server’s maintenance program ceased to operate due to insufficient storage capacity, and its auxiliary servers faced analogous issues. This chain of events culminated in production lines being deprived of essential components. Responding swiftly, Toyota integrated a server with greater capacity, transferring the data, and restoring production by the subsequent day.

It’s universally acknowledged that Toyota’s annual distribution surpasses ten million vehicles. Employing the famed just-in-time production model ensures streamlined operations. However, without timely component supply, both human workers and robotic arms are rendered incapacitated. Rumors circulated that Toyota’s system had been compromised by a cyberattack, echoing a similar disruption in February 2022 due to a network breach. Yet, Toyota emphatically reiterated the integrity of its security apparatus in its statement.

In light of the incident, Toyota proffered apologies to customers, suppliers, and other affiliated entities, assuring them of their renewed scrutiny of maintenance procedures and the implementation of enhanced countermeasures. However, Toyota has remained reticent regarding the exact number of vehicles impacted by this suspension. Notably, the prior cyberattack-induced shutdown had affected 13,000 vehicles in a single day.