Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other carmakers face big disruptions from recent Japanese earthquake

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The earthquake that struck the island of Kyushu on Tuesday 28 July is likely to impact supply of Japanese vehicles imported to Australia, as carmakers and their local importers take stock of the situation one week on. 

Many carmakers have paused production lines and are negotiating the impacts of restrictions from component suppliers as the Japanese car industry assesses the damage.

Chasing Cars has contacted every Japanese car manufacturer operating in Australia to determine what the impact will be here.

Honda

Honda has taken a direct hit, with its Kumamoto plant situated near the epicentre of the earthquake. The factory is damaged and will not be operational until at least Friday 7 August.

The Kumamoto plant assembles motorcycles and power tools; you will need to be patient if you need a lawn mower, leaf blower or generator in the coming weeks.

Honda’s suppliers are affected, so two factories far from Kyushu will pause production this week due to shortages. Its Suzuka plant, which builds the HR-V and Super-One, will close from 6-7 August.

Its Saitama plant will close from 5-7 August. This plant builds not only the Civic, ZR-V and Prelude, but also engines for much of Honda’s line-up, so the idling of this plant may have a domino effect.

Chasing Cars has contacted Honda to clarify Australian impacts.

Nissan

Two Nissan plants in Fukuoka prefecture have “partially suspend(ed)” production until Wednesday 5 August. Nissan has not reported damage to the plants themselves; rather, the earthquake has stopped the timely delivery of parts.

One of these plants produces the X-Trail, while the other produces both the current (Y62) and incoming (Y63) Patrol. Nissan Australia told Chasing Cars that it is reviewing the potential impact on both models’ shipments to Australia, but has no further comment at this stage.

Subaru

Approached by Chasing Cars, Subaru Australia stated it hadn’t been advised of any delays to Australian shipments. Subaru has not reported any production or supplier impacts from the earthquake thus far, and the great majority of Subaru’s manufacturing is in Gunma prefecture, out of harm’s way.

Toyota & Lexus

In a statement, Toyota Australia said its Australian line-up is unaffected by the earthquake. 

However, according to Automotive News, Toyota’s Tahara plant in Aichi prefecture, which assembles the Prado, will close for the week of 3-7 August due to parts shortages.

Lexus is seriously affected. One of its main plants, in Fukuoka prefecture in Kyushu, is out of action until at least Wednesday 5 August, halting production of the UX, NX, ES and RX. The condition of the plant must be assessed before production can resume.

Suppliers to this plant are also thought to be impacted, and Toyota is “in the process of developing a recovery plan.”

Toyota’s Tahara plant also builds the Lexus GX, LS and LM, meaning production of about two-thirds of Lexus’s line-up has been halted.

Mitsubishi

Production at Mitsubishi’s Mizushima plant has stopped again, albeit due to parts shortages this time, not an Allied air raid.

Though the plant is in Okayama prefecture in Honshu, disruptions to parts suppliers forced Mitsubishi to suspend production of some models there on Thursday 30 July. While giving a quarterly earnings presentation on Monday, Mitsubishi’s COO told the NHK (Japan’s public broadcaster) he expected the plant to resume normal operation on Wednesday 5 August.

Mitsubishi informed Chasing Cars the Mizushima plant supplies no vehicles or parts to Australia, so disruptions in our market are unlikely.

Mazda

Mazda has come out unscathed, it appears. Mazda Australia told Chasing Cars there is no impact on their plants this week, and therefore no impact on shipments to Australia.

Isuzu

Isuzu, manufacturers of the D-Max ute and MU-X 7-seat off-roader, has been spared. A factory in Thailand supplies both models to Australia, so Isuzu Australia has confirmed to Chasing Cars that “vehicle deliveries and operations remain unaffected” and “no disruptions are currently anticipated.”

Suzuki

Chasing Cars hasn’t heard from Suzuki, nor has it issued a press release.

Suzuki’s domestic facilities are clustered in Shizuoka prefecture, location of Mount Fuji and far from Kyushu. Suzuki’s production is spread throughout Asia, so significant disruptions don’t seem as likely as with other Japanese firms.