Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it will temporarily halt production of vehicles at a plant in southwestern Japan this week due to disruptions in parts supply from China amid the new coronavirus outbreak.
It will be the first time that a Japanese automaker has suspended production at a domestic plant due to the pneumonia-causing virus, which has thrown business operations in China into disarray.
Nissan will stop production at the Kyushu plant in Fukuoka Prefecture, run by its subsidiary Nissan Motor Kyushu Co., on Friday as necessary parts could not be shipped from a Chinese port.
It will also halt a production line mainly for export-bound vehicles Monday next week at the same plant, it said. Saturday and Sunday are non-operating days at the factory.
Following the outbreak of the virus, Nissan has already delayed planned restarts of four factories in China, which were suspended during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Of the four, one in Hubei Province, central China, where the virus originated, is planning to restart operations sometime after Thursday, while the other three in different areas were to resume after Monday.
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