Nissan expects to return to pre-earthquake output by October, as Japan recovers from the worst natural disaster in its history.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda – the Japanese Big Three – become a lot smaller in April as auto production virtually halted in Japan and was severely hurt globally due to parts shortages caused by the earthquake in March.
Toyota Motor Corporation production was down 78% in Japan, and 26% overseas. The upshot is a global decline of auto production amounting to -48% or 308,555 vehicles when compared to the year earlier period.
It now seems virtually certain that Toyota will loose its Number One position in global sales this year to General Motors.
Nissan’s global production in April decreased 22.4% to 248,024 units. Production in Japan decreased 48.7% year-on-year to 44,193 units.
Things weren’t any better at Honda Motor Company, which saw global production decline to 138,498 motor vehicles or -53%.
April and May could be the bottom for Japanese auto companies though as the supply chain recovers. Officially, the companies say that full production won’t resume until the fall, a conservative estimate according to some auto industry analysts.
