Will the Japanese earthquake push back the arrival of 2012 Toyotas?

[Dorkinheimer]

Will the 2012 Toyota's be available later because of the Japanese Eearthquake? How about parts for older models, will they be more scarce?

I was planning on buying a 2012 model this spring, not necessarily a Corolla, but now I wonder if the 2012's will come out later because of this earthquake...
I know that the Corollas are assembled in Ontario, but still if they have no parts or less parts coming from Japan, I was simply wondering if that affects the Canadian production.

[DeltaViper]

Now by no means am i some liberal environmental tree hugger but 2012 cars should not really be that big of a concern for japan at this moment in time. with that said the japanese are probably one of the most resourceful ppl on the planet. im sure they will figure something out.

[RWolfe]

As of right now it shouldn't be a problem. If the recovery time is very long it may start to become one though. I'm sure Toyota has parts coming from Japan to North America, but also the companies that make parts for Toyota here have parts coming from Japan. I work at Denso here in Ontario and we make the HVAC unit and ECM (radiator, condenser) for the Corolla, Rav4 and Lexus 350 RX (all of which are built in Ontario). A lot of our parts come from Japan and they are shut down right now (obviously), so depending on how long that lasts it may be a problem eventually.

[flamedrgn]

Most of Japan's auto industry is shut down. Factories from Louisiana to Thailand are low on Japanese-made parts. Idled plants are costing companies hundreds of millions of dollars. And U.S. car dealers may not get the cars they order this spring.

From Yahoo News.

but they have much larger things to worry about right now than releasing a new vehicle on time.

[cabur]

(Reuters is reporting Japanese media reports that power has been restored, and pumps are now running in reactor unit 5 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility.
The pumps are crucial to providing water to cool the reactor's nuclear fuel rods.)

Above is the latest news. Looks like the Japanese are working real hard, even suicidally(sp) to get things back to normal. Sympathies to their loss.

[nate89]

Thousands of people have died in this disaster and you want to know about the cars???For one, I doubt it affects you much since I doubt you were planning on buying a 2012 Toyota; and two there are bigger things in life than cars. Show a little humanity please.

[invader]

Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation.
March 14, 2011:

"I offer my prayers to all those who lost their lives in the March 11 Tohoku
Earthquake and its ensuing aftermath, as well as my sympathy to the survivors and their families.

Not only is the struck region one of our production bases, those directly hit and vastly affected include our dealers, suppliers and numerous other partners.

With life the number-one priority, we want to do all we can to contribute to the relief efforts.

Determined to provide hope for not only those suffering and forced to undergo extreme hardships, but also for the region overall, we will do our utmost toward the realization of recovery."

Toyota Announces Recruitment Plan for 2011


Toyota City, Japan, March 11, 2011—Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces it plans to hire 1,370 people (including Toyota Technical Skills Academy enrollees) in the year from April 1, 2011.

On the Tohoku Earthquake in Japan

Since the earthquake, Toyota Motor Corporation's (TMC's) utmost concern has been the safety of all the team members of TMC and its related companies in the Tohoku region.

Yesterday, TMC was able to confirm that the team members of TMC, of Toyota Motor Tohoku and of TMC subsidiary vehicle manufacturers (Central Motor Corporation, Miyagi and Kanto Auto Works, Iwate) were safe.

We are continuing to try to confirm the safety of all team members' family members.

Yesterday, because Tohoku-region team members were evacuated to a safe location, production at plants in the region was halted.

We are now conducting a detailed survey of each plant to determine the extent of any damage.

March 12, 2011
Toyota Motor Corporation

On the donation from Toyota

Toyota is moving to donate 300 million yen for relief and recovery efforts in communities affected by the Tohoku Earthquake.

It is also considering the provision of goods and services as needed.

March 12, 2011
Toyota

Production on Monday, March 14th

Toyota has decided to suspend production at all Toyota Motor Corporation plants, as well as at all subsidiary vehicle-manufacturing plants (e.g. Central Motors, Kanto Auto), on Monday, March 14th.

It is because Toyota places utmost priority on ensuring the safety of all team members at Toyota, its subsidiary vehicle manufacturers such as Central and Kanto, and at its suppliers, as well as on confirming the safety of their family members.

March 12, 2011
Toyota Motor Corporation

Regarding Post-earthquake Production Situation in Japan

TMC has decided to continue its domestic vehicle-production halt—at TMC production plants and at subsidiary vehicle manufacturers—until the end of March 22. We have yet to decide when vehicle production will resume.

Separately, in an effort to aid the repair of vehicles already on the market, we are planning to restart production of replacement parts on March 17. And to keep production lines moving overseas, we are planning to restart production of parts for overseas production (including knockdown parts) on March 21.

March 16, 2011
Toyota Motor Corporation

http://www.toyota-global.com/news/11/index.html