Japan quake halts production of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi

Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have suspended its respective operations after the earthquake due to parts shortage.

Toyota said in a statement that they will suspend production at most of its assembly plant in Japan until April 23, 2016. The automaker added that the recommencement of operations will be based on the availability of parts which are sourced from its suppliers.   

Honda has stopped operations at its motorcycle factory near Kumamoto until April 22 to assess for any damage on the assembly lines.

Nissan, which has two plants on the south-western island of Kyushu, the epicenter of the quakes, has halted production at its Fukuoka plant but, the company has already resumed production last Monday after conducting an assessment of the facility and supply chains.

On the other hand, Mitsubishi’s operations were also affected by the quakes because their supplier, Renesas Electronics Corporation, stopped production due to the unfortunate event. In addition, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. also suffered from the quakes according to Automotive News. The said company has two plants; one produces semiconductors for use in electrical hybrid vehicles while the other makes TFT liquid crystals modules.

The two quakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan’s south-western island of Kyushu have a magnitude of 6.4 and 7.3 on the Richter scale. The earthquake killed 41 people.        

As of late, there have been no reports whether the powerful quakes in Japan would affect the automakers’ operations in the Philippines.