TOKYO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Toyota has announced plans to temporarily halt operations at two of its plants in Japan's northeast due to a global shortage of semiconductors, local media reported Wednesday.
The Aichi prefecture-based automaker said it will suspend operations at a plant in Iwate next month for up to eight days, while its Ohira plant in Miyagi Prefecture faces a three-day suspension.
The two plants produce Toyota's popular C-HR sport utility vehicles and Yaris compact cars, the automaker said.
The plants being suspended are expected to affect production of up to 20,000 vehicles, said Toyota.
Other Japanese automakers have been hit hard by the chip crunch, with Subaru having already suspending production at a plant in Japan's Gunma Prefecture as well as in the United States.
The chip shortage will cause Mitsubishi Motors to produce 40,000 less vehicles in the current fiscal year than initially expected, while Nissan is expected to slash its production target by 250,000 units in the same time frame. Enditem
