Following Honda and Nissan Motor moves earlier, Toyota Motor is considering operating a factory on the Japanese auto industry’s designated holidays, joining other leading automakers in exempting itself from a non-binding agreement to stop plants on Thursdays and Fridays during summer to save electricity, company officials said.
To boost its supply of Hiace minivan to regions affected by the earthquake and tsunami in March, Toyota wants to keep a plant of its subsidiary, Toyota Auto Body, in Mie Prefecture open on Thursdays, Kyodo News reported.
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By squeezing output, Toyota expects to avoid causing a strain on the grid operated by a regional power company, Chubu Electric Power, which has limited excess supply capacity with its nuclear power plant closed.
Japanese automakers originally agreed in May to close all plants on Thursdays and Fridays from July to September to help reduce power consumption on weekdays when electricity demand typically peaks, following the crisis at the quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) commented on Toyota’s plan despite the self-imposed power-saving rule, saying it still expects to achieve a sufficient power consumption cut with most of its member companies’ factories and offices closed on Thursdays and Fridays.
Honda said last week it will open some of its plants on two Thursdays in July while Nissan Motor said it may keep its plants running on Thursdays and Fridays if production falls short of demand.
