Automakers are feeling
the pinch of plant closings.
I
The
coronavirus continues to ripple through China’s huge network of auto and parts factories.
The
longer the China supply chain remains paralyzed, the greater the chance that
production in Asia, Europe and the United States could grind to a halt because
of shortages of components. A lot is at stake in getting the factories humming
again: The auto industry employs eight million people worldwide.
The
German carmaker Daimler said Sunday that it was sticking with plans to begin
reopening its Chinese factories on Monday. Its auto production in China is
centered around Beijing.
Volkswagen
will reopen only its Shanghai plant on Monday. Following the lead of BMW, PSA, Toyota and others, it said Saturday that
production at most of its plants in China would not resume until Feb. 17
because of “challenges due to the nationwide restarting of supply chains as
well as limited travel options for our production employees.”
Even a
relatively brief interruption in the flow of parts and materials could have
far-reaching effects.
The shutdowns at Chinese
factories have hit automakers from several angles. The virus is already causing
sales losses in China, by far the world’s largest car market. If they are
forced to shut down factories outside of China because of parts shortages,
as Hyundai has already done in South Korea, they
could also lose sales in other regions.
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