- Many of Japan's auto plants were scheduled to remain shuttered at least through the end of this week, and some indefinitely, as the country struggled to assess the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Friday.
- Toyota sources nearly 50 percent of its global production in Japan, Nissan and Honda about 25 percent each.
- U.S. shipments of vehicles from the Toyota Prius and Scion xB to most premium Infiniti and Lexus models could be held up indefinitely.
TOKYO — Most of Japan's auto plants were scheduled to remain shuttered at least through Wednesday, and some indefinitely, as the country struggled to assess the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Friday.
Shipments of vehicles bound for North America, Europe and other major markets, from the Toyota Prius to the Lexus LS, were expected to be delayed indefinitely.
A number of auto assembly and parts plants, including several owned and operated by Toyota, were located in the hardest-hit areas in northern Japan and reportedly suffered serious damage. Much of the devastation is focused on the northeastern section of Honshu island, about 185 miles north of Tokyo
But highway transportation, rail lines and shipping all were disrupted by the quake, which experts now are saying was the worst in Japan's history, and tsunami.
Automakers said they closed even factories not directly hit by the quake or tsunami, in part to allow their workers to contact family members affected by the disaster and to wait for component suppliers to repair and restart operations.
Aftershocks were still being felt across Japan on Monday, and authorities were concerned about potential radiation leaks from several nuclear reactors damaged by the quake.
Toyota, which builds nearly half of its global production in Japan and is likely to suffer the heaviest losses, suspended production at all 12 of its Japanese plants at least through Wednesday. Shipments of all Lexus models, except the RX crossover which is built in Canada, and Scion models to the U.S. will be held up indefinitely.
Toyota has two significant factories in the Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, which were the worst hit by the tsunami. The factory in Miyagi, Central Motor, is a fairly new one and was the first new production facility built by Toyota in Japan since 1992. The plant makes the new U.S.-bound Yaris model, which is shipped from the port in Sendai, 20 miles away. The significance of Toyota's investment in the area prompted the upgrading of the port, which now appears to have been destroyed.
In the Iwate area, Kanto Auto Works, a Toyota subsidiary, produces four models for the domestic market and, like Central Motor, won't be operating this week. The precise state of both plants is unknown. If Central Motor has been seriously damaged, it may be necessary to transfer production back to the Sagamihara factory in Kanagawa south of Tokyo, which was to have been shut down.
It is believed that Central Motor was being prepared to produce a compact hybrid model in the near future. Panasonic also had set up a joint-venture factory in Miyagi to produce hybrid batteries. The $340-million factory, known as Primearth EV Energy Company, began operations in January 2010 and can produce about 300,000 battery packs a year. This plant is also shut down at the moment and resumption of operations has not been announced.
At Honda's plant and R&D center in Tochigi, about 85 miles north of Tokyo, severe tremors caused damage to the facilities and 30 workers were injured, with one dead. The company said that besides the Tochigi plant, three other plants south of Tokyo in Sayama, Hamamatsu and Suzuka would be shut through next Sunday, curtailing exports of such popular models as the Honda Fit and hybrids such as the Insight and the CR-Z.
Nissan's 17-year-old factory complex in the Iwaki area of the Fukushima prefecture, which is close to the sea, was also affected and fires broke out. The factory, which specializes in production of VQ-series engines, will stop operations for the time being. Nissan factories in Tochigi and Tohoku also suffered some damage and are shut down along with all other Nissan production facilities in Japan. Nissan said the Tochigi plant, which produces a number of Infiniti models, would remain closed at least through Friday.
The tsunami destroyed 1,300 Infiniti vehicles at the Port of Hitachi awaiting export to the U.S., as well as 1,000 Nissan models at a service center in Miyagi, according to media reports.
Honda and Nissan source about a quarter of their global production in Japan, including nearly all Infiniti models.
Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) also has plants and an R&D center in the tsunami-hit region. Operations have been suspended at all of the company's Japanese factories through Wednesday. Mitsubishi planned to keep all three of its Japanese plants shut through Tuesday. Mazda and Suzuki said they would suspend production at all plants at least through Wednesday.
In Japan, Citi analyst Matsushima Noriyuki said: "We still expect bottlenecks in supplies of parts (depending on the operating conditions and logistical capabilities at suppliers) and power, so we would caution that stoppages could be protracted." LINK
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