01/29/2020
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01/29/2020
Japanese auto giant Toyota announced Wednesday that it will extend the suspension of production from its assembly plants in China by one week, until February 9, inclusive, as a result of the health crisis caused by the new coronavirus.
“We will monitor the situation and make a new decision” after this date, a spokesman for the group told AFP.
Toyota has three vehicle assembly sites in China, one in Canton (south) with the Chinese manufacturer GAC and two others with FAW in Tianjin near Beijing (northeast) and in Sichuan (center).
These factories were already shutdown since January 23 due to Chinese New Year holidays, but their restart has been postponed “due to various factors including instructions from local and regional authorities” and difficulties in supplying parts. automobiles in the country due to the health crisis, said Toyota spokesman.
The group’s eight other production sites (parts and components) in China are also shut down, he added, but did not give any further details.
Drastic measures
Discovered in the metropolis of Wuhan in the center of the country, the new coronavirus has already killed 132 people and contaminated nearly 6,000 people in mainland China, according to a last provisional assessment by local authorities.
Beijing is using drastic measures to try to stem the epidemic, which also risks seriously penalizing the country’s already weakened economy.
Wuhan and almost all of Hubei province, or 56 million inhabitants, have been quarantined since last Thursday, and many internal transport are suspended in the rest of the country as well.
The American giant Apple also recognized on Wednesday uncertainties concerning the production of its subcontractors in China, the reopening of their factories having been postponed to February 10.
ats, awp, afp
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