Shutdown of Japanese plants won’t affect Mauritius car market right now

Following the earthquake in Japan on March 11, Nissan Motors Ltd has been working round-the-clock with its teams in Japan and abroad to assess the status of its employees and the impact on its operations.

Nissan Motors Ltd has announced a donation of 30 million yen and the provision of logistic equipment, including vehicles and medical supplies, to help Japan.

Nissan’s Oppama, Kyushu, Shatai and Yokohama plants will resume operations on March 16 while the company’s Tochigi and Iwaki plants will suspend operations until March 18.

Referring to the import of spare parts from Japan, Ng said, “We do not depend directly on Japan for all the brands that we market. We are in a sector where production and supply are regionalised or globalised. Nissan has sufficient stocks of both vehicle spare parts to supply the local market.”

Ng said with the scheduled reopening of Nissan’s facilities, the situation will gradually return to normal.

“The negative impact of the earthquake and tsunami on the automotive industry is temporary,” Ng explained.

ABC Motors believes 2011 will be very productive.

Meanwhile, Toyota said its facilities in Japan have not been affected directly.

Pascal Lelong, national sales and marketing manager of Toyota Mauritius said that only some of the company’s logistics have been damaged.

“This does not affect us directly. We are in constant communication with the Toyota manufacturing facilities of Japan,” Lelong said. Regarding the import of cars in the immediate future, Lelong announced that there would be no delays as a shipment destined for Mauritius left Japan on March 5.