Toyota resumes engine casting at storm-hit plant in Brazil

Toyota restarted casting operations at its engine factory in Porto Feliz, Brazil, on 22 September 2026. The reopening comes one year after a destructive storm leveled the site in September 2025. The initial phase brings 150 employees back to cast aluminum engine blocks and cylinder heads in a rebuilt shed.

The operational portion represents one-sixth of the planned complex area. Toyota engineered the reconstructed structure with a 45% increase in structural resistance to guard against future severe weather events. On-site recovery involves 250 third-party workers and contractors, alongside 75 foundry specialists from Brazil and Japan dedicated to the rebuilding project.

Toyota preserved its entire plant workforce of 830 employees without dismissals following the disaster. To sustain vehicle assembly while Porto Feliz lay damaged, the automaker reassigned 200 employees to its manufacturing plant in Sorocaba and set up interim operations in a leased 45,000-square-meter business park warehouse.

That temporary machining and assembly facility staffed 373 workers and produced 42,000 engines between January 2026 and September 2026. Interim manufacturing reached a daily run-rate of 400 engines per day to supply Brazilian vehicle production. Toyota expects full reconstruction and full-capacity operation at Porto Feliz by 2028.