Toyota Japan Halts Production Until March 22

The initial assessment made by Japanese manufacturer Toyota following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern coast of Japan on Friday seems to have been much too optimistic. The initial freeze in production, originally said to last until the past Tuesday, has not been extended for an additional week, until March 22.

Toyota says that that date is temporary as well, as the car maker mentions that a final decision on when the production of vehicles is resumed is yet to be made. In an attempt to limit the financial losses that will come as a result of the production freeze, Toyota also announced its decision to resume the production of spare parts for vehicles already on the market beginning Thursday, March 17.

“We continue to place priority on supporting the relief efforts in the regions affected and ensuring that our team members, the employees at subsidiary vehicle manufacturers and at our suppliers - and all their respective family members - are safe,” the auto maker repeatedly says.

The automotive industry now braces for the full force of the Japanese disaster to hit. The countless suppliers that have been shut down by the quake and tsunami, coupled with the decision of auto makers like Toyota and Nissan to stop producing vehicles will have a damaging effect on the markets around the world.

However, the most affected of all auto makers will remain Toyota. The producers, who had just announced a new strategy to recover from the troubles it went through the past year because of the unintended acceleration recall, will again be set back by the unfortunate events of the last week.