Toyota was forced to halt production of its RAV4 and Harrier crossovers in Japan after an explosion at a manufacturing facility in the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, killed one worker and injured two others. The explosion happened at the Fujioka plant, which is operated by Chuo Spring Co. around 8 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to Kyodo News, and early reports suggest it was caused by a dust collector.
Per Automotive News, Toyota said it will suspend operations at three of its production lines in Japan (one at its Takaoka assembly plant, which makes the RAV4 and Harrier; the other two at another facility where the RAV4 is assembled) until at least Monday, March 10. “Around noon” that day, the company said, it will reassess the situation. Toyota imports about one-fifth of its U.S. RAV4 volume from Japan. Toyota told AN that it is taking steps to offset the lost output and could not speculate on the exact impact on production.
“There was a loud bang and shaking during the morning meeting, and then I saw smoke,” an employee told Kyodo.
First responders needed three hours to bring the resulting blaze under control, and the exterior wall and roof of the building were both visibly damaged by the fire.
As the name suggests, Chuo Spring Co. produces suspension springs for Toyota; the company also manufactures control cables (think parking brake, hood release, etc.). This process produces a large amount of fine metal dust, which can become highly unstable in the right concentrations.
An explosion at the same plant injured multiple employees and shut down 13 of Toyota’s assembly lines in October 2023, disrupting production of the RAV4 and Land Cruiser. That explosion occurred in the factory’s steel drying furnace. It took 10 days for Toyota to resume operations.
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