Here We Go Again: Toyota Shutters Factory In Thailand Due To COVID ‘Delta’ Variant

Today in “are we going to do the entire lockdown again for the Delta variant despite the entire world having access to vaccines” news…

Toyota says it is halting operations at three of its factories in Thailand as a result of the Delta variant disrupting the supply of automotive parts globally. The stoppage began on July 21 and will last until at least July 28, according to a report from Nikkei. 

The report says that Toyota “has sourced wire harnesses to connect electrical components from an external factory, which was recently forced to shut down”. 

The annual production capacity of the factories that have been shuttered is 760,000 units. They produced only 440,000 units in 2020 and Thailand is the 3rd largest overseas hub for Toyota, after China and the U.S.

The shuttered factories are mainly responsible for producing the Corolla and the company’s Hilux pickup. It is the second time the company’s Thailand factories have been closed down, with the first being in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.

The Delta variant is “overwhleming” southeast Asia according to the report and the Thai government has “resorted to a business lockdown of affected provinces to contain the situation”. 

Similarly, Malaysia also went into a nationwide lockdown in June, forcing auto factories there to close. “Indonesia has now overtaken India as the Asian epicenter of the pandemic,” Nikkei concluded.