Toyota Motor Corporation's China plant resumes production for the first time after the earthquake

FAW Group and Toyota Motor Corporation’s (TYO:7203) joint venture plant in China will restart production for the first time after the earth quake struck China. Because of the earthquake, the production was shut down for a week. For now, Toyota has decided to start the day shift. So far, no major damage has happened to the plant except a fracture in the floor of the paintline. The shutdown cost Toyota 380 vehicles which is not a huge loss. Toyota is now concerned about whether there has been any shift in the quality of the production. AP reports:

Production has restarted at Toyota's joint venture auto plant in China after it was halted for a week after a deadly earthquake struck nearby.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s joint venture with Chinese carmaker FAW Group has only restarted the daytime shift and is taking things "one step at a time" before restarting the night shift, said Paul Nolasco, a Toyota company spokesman in Tokyo.

None of the employees were injured and all family members were accounted for, but Toyota needed to check on the machinery and the well-being of their workers before giving the go-ahead to start production, he said.

The joint venture produces the Coaster microbuses and Prado sport utility vehicle.

The plant situated at Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in South Western China produces 80 vehicles per day. The 7.9 magnitude earthquake at Central China took place on May 12. It caused huge damage and killed many people.

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