In France, the Toyota plant will be closed on April 6 for four days, according to spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi speaking for MSNBC. In Britain, the two facilities will also be idled sometimes in May, for an yet undetermined period of time.
"In France, we're reviewing production because of the impact of recall problems," Takeuchi said according to the source.
In Britain, the Derbyshire car assembly and Deeside engine plants will be closed or an extra week during Easter brake, as a result of the decrease in sales.
Initially, the plant was scheduled to cease production for four days, starting with March 29. Now, the extra idle week will begin as soon as the programmed one ends, on April 5.
"The recall is one of the issues that affect it but there are other specific market factors such as the ending of scrappage schemes," a Toyota spokeswoman said. "We continue to monitor demand and we will continue to adjust accordingly."
Although initially the Japanese carmaker said it has no plans to halt production in Europe as a result of the sudden acceleration-related recall, it would appear the negative reaction from the public caught up with the sales figures and forced the carmaker into taking this step.
Toyota's sales dropped 20 percent in February in the EU countries, despite the overall industry increase in the region of 3 percent.
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