Quake fallout: Automakers may lose 600,000 vehicles

Global automakers may lose production of 600,000 vehicles by the end of the month as the earthquake in Japan halts assembly lines and work at suppliers including the maker of a paint pigment.

About 320,000 vehicles may have been lost worldwide as of March 24, and manufacturing at plants in North America may be affected when parts supplies start running out as soon as early April, said Michael Robinet, vice president of Lexington, Massachusetts-based IHS Automotive.

“The next surge of shutdowns comes when the pipeline of parts that were already built dries up,” Robinet said yesterday in a telephone interview. “The rate of lost production will accelerate once North American plants join in.”

Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest automaker, said it has lost output of 140,000 vehicles, and Honda Motor Co has lost 46,600 cars and trucks and 5,000 motorcycles. Mitsubishi Motors Corp’s was lowered by 15,000. Ford Motor Co hasn’t lost any output, said Todd Nissen, a spokesman.

Honda, Japan’s third-largest automaker, said its production in North America may be disrupted after April 1 because quake damage is restricting parts supplies, Natsuno Asanuma, a spokeswoman for the company, said today by phone. Plants in Ohio, Alabama, Indiana, Canada and Mexico may be affected, she said.

Mazda Motor Corp, which had said its production was reduced by 31,000 cars, yesterday suspended US dealer orders for vehicles built at its two Japanese car factories because of supply disruptions caused by this month’s earthquake and tsunami.

Mazda plants in Hiroshima and Hofu have stopped production of new models, said Tim Gilman, a spokesman. Mazda makes the Mazda2, Mazda3, RX-8, MX-5, CX-7 and CX-9 in Japan, he said. While neither plant was damaged, access to parts and supplies has been crimped in the aftermath of the disaster, he said  Nissan Motor Co, General Motors Co and other companies haven’t provided details on their possible losses.

Merck KGaA has lost production of a metallic automotive paint pigment called Xirallic because its factory is 28 miles from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant that was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, Gangolf Schrimpf, a spokesman for the Darmstadt, Germany-based company, said in a telephone interview.