Plenty of Japanese new cars on way

Photo / AP

Japanese carmakers have enough new vehicles on the ground in New Zealand to cope with short-term production cuts at plants in Japan damaged by the earthquake and tsunami.

Japan's seven biggest carmakers have largely suspended production while they assess damage to factories and supply chains.

But their New Zealand distributors say there are enough vehicles here or on the way from Japan to counter any supply shortages while factories in Japan get back on their feet.

Besides, many Japanese models that sell in New Zealand are built at factories outside Japan. Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, Nissan get a number of models from Thailand, for example.

Nissan also gets some from factories in Spain and Britain. The X-Trial, Tida, Murano, GT-R and 370Z come from Japan.

"Presently there is no problem with supply," said Nissan NZ managing director John Manley. "We are okay. March production is already on the water."

Subaru NZ managing director Wally Dumper isn't concerned about supply shortages either.

"I've got a lot of faith in the Japanese," he said. I've worked with them for a long time and they'll deal with it. If anyone can get around [the disruption] they can."

Honda NZ marketing manager Graeme Meyer says his company has plenty of stock. "We get most of our stock from Japan and because we have launched recent new models we increased our numbers. We don't see any issues with supply in the short term."

Vehicle production was suspended in Japan last Monday by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Subaru and Suzuki so the companies could assess the impact, particularly on suppliers.

Dozens of suppliers have facilities in the danger zone, raising fears of further disruption to production. The damage to nuclear plants is cause for concern as is interrupted power supply.

Most of the Japanese motor industry is clustered south of the danger zone, although Toyota has manufacturing facilities in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the worst-hit areas.

Some carmakers resumed limited production mid-week; others, like Mazda, whose plants in western Japan are well away from the danger zone, will start again tomorrow.

Japanese giant Toyota said there had been no interruption to its car shipments from Japan, although ports were congested.

It was to begin production in the past 24 hours. Factory closures since last weekend have cost Toyota around 40,000 vehicles.