Coronavirus hits production at Nissan’s Japanese plants
Nissan has announced that it will temporarily halt production at one of its factories in Japan due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The decision will affect the Kyushu facility in southwest Japan and has been taken due to difficulties sourcing parts from China.
This comes as the global automotive industry is facing a slowdown as supply chain exports from China are restricted to prevent the virus spreading.
Two production lines at the plant will stop on 14 February, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. Another line, which mainly builds cars for exporting, will stop on 17 February.
The plant produced 434,000 vehicles in the 2018 financial year. Around half were destined for the domestic market.
The temporary closure would lower production by 3,000 vehicles, it is reported.
Last week, Fiat Chrysler was considering stopping production at one of its European plants due to difficulty sourcing parts from China.
South Korean companies Hyundai, Kia and Renault Samsung Motors have all announced closures for the same reason whilst Tesla has also reported disruption.
Nissan said in statement: “We continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our employees in China. In full compliance with government directives and in view of the situation of the epidemic and our suppliers, we are preparing to restart production in China at the earlier from February 17 at Huadu Plant and Dalian Plan. Restart dates for other plants will differ by plant and we will update as necessary.
“Due to supply shortages of parts fro China, Nissan Kyushu in Japan will carry our temporary production adjustments on February 14 and 17.”