Toyota may halt car-making

Toyota announced on Saturday that it may be forced to suspend production of certain vehicles in Japan during February following a serious explosion that has halted the supply of parts from a local steel maker.

It's now yet known which models will be affected and whether there will be an impact on customers in markets including Australia, which sources a number of Toyota models from Japan.

Operations at Aichi Steel Corporation's Chita plant in central Japan ceased following an explosion on January 8 when excess gas was ignited by a furnace pilot light. Nobody was killed or seriously injured in the accident.

A lack of parts will force Toyota to stop assembling cars over February 8 to 13. Toyota vehicles built in Japan for Australia include the Prius and LandCruiser model families.

Japanese production accounts for 40 per cent of vehicles made by the world's largest car-maker globally, with more than 350,000 vehicles per month produced in Japan.

Last year it produced more than four million Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles in Japan, about 46 per cent of which were exported. Before the incident, Toyota was reportedly building around 14,000 cars per day.

The stoppage may impact Toyota's plans to produce 4.13 million vehicles in Japan, including its fourth-generation Prius, which is built exclusively in Japan and goes on sale in Australia in March.

A Toyota spokesperson told Reuters the company had enough components to continue car-making until February 6, but has already cancelled overtime and weekend shifts at its Japanese factories.

It may also affect Toyota's plans to build 10.2 million vehicles worldwide this year – up from 10.15 million in 2015, when it beat Volkswagen to the title of world's largest-selling car-maker.