Last Thursday, an explosion occurred at the factory of a major Toyota supplier, killing one worker and injuring two others. The unusual incident disrupted supply chains, forcing Toyota to halt production at two of its plants. Specifically, three assembly lines that mainly produce the RAV4 were shut down as a result. The duration of the delay has not yet been specified.
The explosion occurred at the Chuo Spring Co. plant, which is part of the Toyota Group and produces suspension springs and electrical cables. The workplace fatality is likely to lead to an investigation, which is why insiders are hesitant to predict when the RAV4 will return to production.
Toyota, in response to a journalist's inquiry, said that it was too early to talk about the possible impact of the incident on RAV4 exports. This is not the first case of workplace emergencies in Japan. In October 2023, an explosion occurred at a factory of one of Toyota's suppliers, which caused eight factories and 13 production lines to stop work for ten days.
However, the Toyota RAV4 shutdown may be longer due to the investigation into the incident, which is currently underway. This problem occurs at the end of the life cycle of the fifth generation of the RAV4 crossover. The debut of the sixth generation of the RAV4 is expected this year: the appearance of the new product has already appeared in images and does not impress with anything. According to experts, it will most likely represent a deeper modernization of the current model, built on the TNGA-K platform.