Earthquake likely to affect Japanese automakers in Wuhan

Auto plants of two China-Japan joint ventures in Wuhan are still operating normally in the aftermath of Japan's severe earthquake and tsunami, but production will possibly be affected starting next month, according to reports from Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Honda.
Japan is the largest trade partner of Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in central part of China. In 2010, the trade value between Wuhan and Japan reached 2.2 billion U.S. dollars. Because Japan is at the high end of the global industrial chain, the vehicle component and chip imports from Japan will temporarily be suspended, affecting the supply chain of some enterprises in Wuhan, according to the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Commerce.
The Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company is a joint venture of China's Dongfeng Motor Company and the Japanese Nissan Motor Company. It has production bases in Xiangyang, Hubei Province and Huadu in Guangdong Province. Officials from the Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company said the future production of Dongfeng Nissan might be affected because several Nissan suppliers were badly damaged by the earthquake and power is in short supply in Japan.
Dongfeng Nissan has launched its contingency system to maintain regular communication with Nissan headquarters in Japan while paying close attention to the development of the whole situation. They have already taken some measures to minimize the impact of the earthquake.
Dongfeng Honda is a joint venture established by Dongfeng Motor Company and Honda Motor Corporation. Some of its components and parts are imported from Japan. As the inventory is sufficient, normal production operations and sales for March can be guaranteed. However, the situation in April is still uncertain.
By Li Jia, People's Daily Online
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