![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Tsunami-Cars.jpg\" "\\"Tsunami")
<\/a><\/p>\nWe do know that: –<\/p>\n
- \n
- Some Japanese vehicle manufacturing plants, including Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and Subaru have ceased operation and will be gradually resuming production during April and May, but only on a limited basis.<\/li>\n
- Whilst many Japanese branded cars are not actually manufactured in Japan, (for example, the only Honda that is fully manufactured in Japan is the Euro), Japan may well be the source of some crucial\u00a0components.<\/li>\n
- Similarly, even non-Japanese brands may well be dependant on Japan for components. Volkswagen, for example, source air-conditioning units from Japan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u00a0This means that the shock that Japan experienced may well be felt much more widely than anticipated and some respected analysts predict that as much as 30% of the global automotive industry\u2019s volume could be affected within six weeks.<\/p>\n
We have surveyed most of the major manufacturers to get their take on how they may be affected. Understandably, may of them are reluctant to comment, and others are still uncertain and unclear.<\/p>\n
Gone are the days when a car company would make the majority of its motor cars. Virtually all manufacturers source from\u00a0all parts of\u00a0the world. A typical car has approximately 5000 parts, and if just one part is sourced from Japan and can\u2019t be sourced from elsewhere, then the whole plant could grind to a halt.<\/p>\n
It does seem, though, that some notable brands have already suffered some supply problems \u2013 particularly with high tech diesel components, for example\u00a0\u2013 but Japanese suppliers have been able to overcome the supply problems and we’ve just been told that diesel engine production is flowing again, much to the relief of manufacturers such as Peugeot, Land Rover and Citroen.<\/p>\n
We have been assured by Hyundai and Kia that they have no supply problems and certainly many European brands remain unaffected too. However, Mazda, who have had to shut down all of their factories in Japan, are slowly resuming operations but have a very restricted power supply. This suggests that their highly popular 2 and 3 model small cars will be suffering severe supply problems in the coming months.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Altona-car-plant.jpg\" "\\"Altona")
<\/a><\/p>\nToyota have been hit by supply shortages in its local operation, and have announced that it will halve its output from its car production line in Altona until supply lines improve. They will reassess the situation at the end of June.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/lincoln.jpg\" "\\"lincoln\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nEven if a manufacturer is largely unaffected with parts supply, it may be hit in other obscure ways; for example, some European and North American makers are experiencing shortages of certain colours of cars because some special pigments come from Japan and can\u2019t be sourced from elsewhere.<\/p>\n
So, what\u2019s the message?<\/em><\/p>\n
Simply, this is an enormous disaster that is impacting in many more ways than one could possibly anticipate. New car buyers need to be aware that their choices may be restricted. We will certainly be doing our best to keep abreast of developments, availability and pricing, but it is a time of turmoil where patience is paramount.<\/p>\n
As a company, we have enormous sympathy for the plight of the millions of people who are suffering in Japan. Should you wish to assist by donating, we suggest you visit the Japan Tsunami Appeal website at www.wspa.org.au\/Japan_appeal<\/a><\/p>\n
or the Red Cross Appeal website at<\/p>\n
\u00a0www.redcross.org.au\/Japan2011.htm<\/a> http:\/\/credit-n.ru\/calc.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The dreadful earthquake and tsunami in Japan will have an impact on practically every Western nation in some form or other. \u00a0We have been trying to find out how it will impact on the motor trade in Australia and frankly, it is very difficult to be definitive. We do know that: – Some Japanese vehicle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12482,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions\/12482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}