AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/17 Report--

Toyota has twice postponed the resumption of work at its plant in China and has not produced cars since February. After considering local logistics and spare parts procurement, Toyota officially confirmed the resumption time of its plant in China.

Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. said on the 17th that production had resumed at two plants in Changchun and Guangzhou, China, which had been suspended due to COVID-19 's expansion.

Toyota added that the plant in Tianjin would resume production on the basis of a lower operating rate on the 18th. The Chengdu factory has been postponed to 24 days later, and when to resume work has not been formally determined.

Toyota's plant in China was originally scheduled to resume work on February 3, but due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the guidance program of the local government and the supply of spare parts were postponed to after February 10, and then again to after the 17th.

Earlier, a Toyota spokesman said that the company will try to prepare for the resumption of normal operations after February 17 in the week after the 10th. The specific resumption date will be judged comprehensively according to the purchasing and logistics status of parts.

And further postponed to 24 after the resumption of production of FAW Toyota Chengdu plant, mainly produces Costa medium buses and Prado 3.5L models. Affected by the sixth national emission regulations, Prado 3.5L products will stop production in June 2020, and the product line will be completely revamped and put into production of Toyota Asian Dragon fuel vehicles and their new energy products in the future.

Toyota's Chinese factories produced about 1.4 million vehicles in 2019, up 6.6 per cent from the previous year. Including imported models and Lexus brands, Toyota sold 1.62 million vehicles in China for the whole year, up 9% from a year earlier and surpassing sales in Japan for the first time. FAW Toyota sold 738000 vehicles in 2019, up 2% from the same period last year, while Guangzhou Auto Toyota sold 682000 vehicles in 2019, up 17.6% from the same period last year.

For Toyota, the Chinese market is increasingly important, and problems such as a half-month shutdown and slow subsequent recovery could affect Toyota's performance and sales plans. Toyota China earlier announced that it aims to sell 1.76 million vehicles in 2020, a year-on-year growth rate of about 8.6 per cent.

As for other Japanese car companies, all Honda factories in China have been postponed to resume work after the 17th, with the Guangzhou plant resuming production on the 17th and the Wuhan plant scheduled to resume operation on the 21st and start production on the 24th. This is due to the latest regulations issued by Hubei Province that enterprises will resume work no earlier than 24:00 on February 20.

Honda sold 1.554 million new cars in china last year, up 8.5% from the previous year and an all-time high. Honda China has become a major market on a par with North America, and a long-term shutdown could have an impact on performance. The three factories in Wuhan are operated by the joint venture Dongfeng Honda, which produces Civic, CR-V, XR-V, UR-V, INSPIRE and other models.

Nissan's plant in Xiangyang, Hubei province, which started production of Teana, Loulan and Infiniti Q50L models, also resumed work after the 20th.

For its part, Mazda also said it would reopen its factory in China on February 17. In January, sales of the Mazda brand in China were 20963, down 8.23% from a year earlier. Among them, FAW Mazda sold 7539 vehicles in January, up 7.45 per cent compared with the same period last year, while Changan Mazda sold 13424 vehicles in January, down 15.2 per cent from the same period last year.

At present, in addition to the restrictions in Hubei, major automobile companies in other places have gradually entered the stage of resuming work and putting into production, and automobile enterprises should also take corresponding epidemic prevention and control measures, including wearing masks for all employees and checking their body temperature when entering the factory.

China's car sales fell by about 20% in January and may fall by more than 50% in February due to the continuing impact of the epidemic, and all automakers will face quarterly performance challenges.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said that the sudden COVID-19 epidemic has disrupted the normal operation rhythm of the industry, automobile production and sales will be greatly affected in the short term, and the parts supply system will be disrupted. This is undoubtedly "even worse" for the automobile industry, which is already under great downward pressure.

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