Toyota said it would restart production on the No 1 assembly lines at its Inabe and Gifu Auto Body plants which produce the Hiace, Alphard, Vellfire and other minibuses for worldwide sale, on 4 March.

That followed a decision by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on 27 February to allow shipments of diesel engines produced by Toyota Industries Corporation (Tico) to resume after they were suspended last month after certification irregularities came to light. The automaker said it would resume production of vehicles using Tico engines for domestic sale.

Toyota added production of the Landcruiser 300 at its Yoshiwara plant for export had already resumed and domestic customers would also be able to take delivery of this model from next week. Shipments of Thai-made Hilux pickup truck to Japan would also resume.

Toyota again apologised for the certification scandal, saying the group would review the situation thoroughly to “ensure that safety and quality are the top priorities”.

It added it would support Tico to allow it to “return to its roots and revitalise its engine business”.