Mazda has become the latest carmaker to announce that it’ll be postponing production as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Japanese carmaker will suspend manufacturing at some point during a one month, starting Friday, across its global sites.
In Japan, the company’s production lines in Hiroshima and Hofu will come to a halt for 13 days, which will occur at some point between 28th March and 30th April. Staff will only be permitted to the facility during the day and administrative operations will continue as normal.
The company’s factory in Mexico, meanwhile, will cease manufacturing for ten days start on 25th March, while its facility in Thailand will suspend production for a similar period five days later.
All vehicles that were due to be produced in the first quarter, for the financial year ending in March 2021, will now be moved to Q2. This, however, could change if COVID-19 continues to cause disruption in the coming months.
Mazda showrooms will stay open in China and Japan, and the carmaker intends to keep some sales locations running in Europe. However, the firm noted that it would continue to evaluate the global situation and respect government policies that could result in showroom closures.
Keyword: Coronavirus: Mazda halts production due to COVID-19 disruption