TOKYO (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co Ltd will adjust production in Fukuoka prefecture this week due to disruptions in parts supplies after an earthquake hit northeastern Japan, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The earthquake on Saturday affected autoparts maker Hitachi Astemo, the sources said.
Hitachi Astemo, a joint venture between Hitachi Ltd and Honda Motor Co Ltd, produces parts for car suspension systems at its plant in Fukushima prefecture which are used by automakers including Nissan and Toyota Motor Corp.
Nissan shortened the operating time of two lines at its Fukuoka plant, which produces Serena minivans, from Tuesday night, and will halt production on Saturday, sources said.
But a Nissan spokeswoman said the automaker was seeing no impact on production so far.
Elsewhere, Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it will temporarily suspend production on 14 lines at nine group factories in Japan as some of its suppliers were affected by the quake.
Toyota has halted production due to the shutdown of the Hitachi Astemo suspension plant, the Nikkei daily reported Wednesday.
Hitachi Astemo said on Wednesday its plant in Fukushima prefecture has halted production since Monday due to a power blackout after the quake, a Hitachi Astemo spokesman said.
The company requires time to inspect the plant for any power-related issues, such as electric leakage, he added. Hitachi Astemo did not say when operations would resume.
The strong quake injured scores of people and triggered widespread power outages.
(Reporting by Maki Shiraki, Noriyuki Hirata, Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing by Kim Coghill)
