Toyota, Nissan and Honda have all suspended production of cars and trucks in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that has devastated northeastern Japan.
Toyota, Japan’s largest automaker, reported it has ceased manufacturing at its 12 plants until March 16, according to Reuters. Two of the closed factories have a combined annual capacity of 420,000 small cars built mainly for exported sales.
Toyota manufactured 234,045 vehicles (38 percent of its global production) in January in Japan.
Nissan has halted output at four plants in northeast Japan and will remain closed without a scheduled re-opening date. Two Nissan employees at a plant in Tochigi prefecture were slightly injured by the earthquake, according to new agencies.
The carmaker also reported 1,300 vehicles scheduled for U.S. delivered were damaged via the earthquake at the Port of Hitachi and another 1,000 were damaged by the tsunami at the Miyagi Service Center.
Honda, the country’s third-largest manufacturer, reported four of its domestic plants and a research and development center will remain closed with a re-open date unknown.
Nissan said 1,300 U.S.-bound vehicles were damaged at the port of Hitachi, north of Tokyo, and another 1,000 at the Miyagi Service Center suffered damage when the tsunami swept ashore.
Article Last Updated: March 13, 2011.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
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