Explosion at Toyota Supplier Disrupts RAV4 Production for the Second Time in Two Years
Toyota had to stop the production of its RAV4 and Harrier crossovers in Japan following an explosion at a manufacturing facility in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, which resulted in one fatality and two injuries. The explosion occurred at the Fujioka plant, operated by Chuo Spring Co., around 8 a.m. local time on Thursday, as reported by Kyodo News, with initial findings indicating it was linked to a dust collector.
According to Automotive News, Toyota announced it will pause operations at three production lines in Japan—one at the Takaoka assembly plant where the RAV4 and Harrier are manufactured, and the other two at a different site where the RAV4 is assembled—until at least Monday, March 10. The company noted that it will evaluate the situation around noon on that day. Approximately 20% of the RAV4 units sold in the U.S. are imported from Japan. Toyota informed Automotive News that it is implementing measures to compensate for the reduced output, but they could not predict the exact impact on production.
An employee described the situation to Kyodo, saying, “There was a loud bang and shaking during the morning meeting, and then I saw smoke.”
Emergency responders took three hours to control the resulting fire, which visibly damaged the building's exterior walls and roof.
As implied by its name, Chuo Spring Co. produces suspension springs for Toyota and also manufactures control cables like those for parking brakes and hood releases. This production process generates a significant amount of fine metal dust, which can be highly volatile in sufficient concentrations.
The same plant experienced another explosion in October 2023 that injured several employees and resulted in the shutdown of 13 of Toyota’s assembly lines, affecting the production of the RAV4 and Land Cruiser. That incident originated in the factory's steel drying furnace and took 10 days for operations to resume.
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Explosion at Toyota Supplier Disrupts RAV4 Production for the Second Time in Two Years
An explosion of a dust collector at a factory in Japan, which manufactures springs for an automobile company, resulted in one employee's death and injuries to two others.