Toyota says it is suspending production at all 28 lines of its 14 plants in Japan because of a “system malfunction” that a domestic supplier suspects is a cyberattack
TOKYO — Toyota is suspending production at all 28 of its 14 plants in Japan from Tuesday after a "system malfunction" suspected a cyberattack at a domestic supplier.
Kojima Industries Corp., based in the city of Toyota in central Japan, said on Monday that the problem may have been a cyberattack after an error was detected in its computer server system.
As a result, the company stated that its system could not communicate properly with Toyota or monitor production, although there was nothing physically wrong with the production equipment.
Kojima spokesman Tomohiro Takayama said the company is investigating and working to fix the problem.
"It's never happened before," Takayama said. "We're not sure yet if it's a cyber attack, but we suspect it could be one."
Kojima supplies Toyota a range of parts, including air conditioning, steering wheel components, and other parts for the interior and exterior of vehicles.
It was unclear when the problem might be fixed and production could resume.
Toyota Motor Corporation, which makes the Prius hybrid and Camry sedans, apologized for the inconvenience caused to its customers and promised to fix the problem as soon as possible.
Toyota Group truck maker Hino Motors said two of its production plants in Japan were affected by a similar breakdown. The Nikkei Business Daily reported that Daihatsu Motor Co., a subsidiary of Toyota, which makes small cars, was also affected and had ceased production. Daihatsu was not immediately available for comment.
Toyota and other automakers are already grappling with shortages of computer chips and other parts due to disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic.
Some customers have been waiting for their orders to be delivered for months.