Nissan, Honda, Toyota close more plants in Europe, Asia due to coronavirus

Japanese automakers on Wednesday stated they would temporarily stop more vehicle plants in Europe and Asia as coronavirus continues to spread and prompts countries to instruct non-essential businesses to postpone operations.

An increasing number of global automakers have been closing plants in Europe and beyond as the COVID-19 outbreak is leading governments to impose commuting restrictions, leaving companies preparing for supply chain disruptions.

Toyota Motor stated it had stopped operations at plants in Britain and Poland from Wednesday, whereas its Czech site would be stopped on Thursday. Operations at its Turkey site would be halted from Saturday.

Nissan Motor stated it had stopped output at its two plants located in Spain and its plant in Britain, whereas Honda Motor was temporarily closing all its dealerships in Italy.

Toyota stated its plant in the Philippines has halted operations through mid-April, while its plant located in Malaysia will be shut down from next Monday through the end of March. Honda had also halted production in both nations.

Previously on Wednesday, Volkswagen said it would suspend production at its European plants for 10 days. The German automaker warned that the spreading virus would disrupt its supply chain.

About 221,290 people worldwide have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. As of now, the virus has killed 8,997 people.