Carmakers in quake-hit Sichuan resume production

Shanghai, May 19 (Gasgoo.com) When a deadly earthquake of 8.0-magnitude devastated Sichuan on May 12, carmakers in the province and the neighboring Chongqing municipality were not severely damaged, and they have started to resume their prodcution after a week of suspension. But the auto-part supplies and delivery of their cars for sale are a big problem when most highways and railroads to and from the disaster areas are used for the transportation of relief supplies.

Various brands of Sichuan-made vehicles, such as Changan Ford Mazda, Changan Suzuki, Chonqing Lifan and FAW-Toyota, are stable in their prices, but some dealers expressed worries that those cars manufactured in the disaster areas will be in short supply after the products in the storehouses are sold out. The logistics and transportation will pose the biggest challenge for the Sichuan-based carmakers as well as their suppliers and dealers in other parts of the country.

Industry insiders said that the earthquake will have a short-term impact on China's auto-making industry, but the influence on the auto market of the whole year will be very limited and is not bigger than that of the snowstorms of late January and early February this year.

FAW-Toyota has resumed limited production at its plant in Chengdu, a week after the earthquake. The company will cancel one of two daily shifts between May 19 and May 24 at its plant in the capital of Sichuan province. Ford, Honda, and Nissan said there was no immediate damage to their factories in Sichuan, Chongqing and other affected areas.

The death toll from the magnitude 8.0 earthquake last Monday has now climbed past 34,000 and may reach 50,000 with more than 245,000 injured, Xinhua news agency reported today.