Global auto factories that were suspended

    March 11 earthquake occurred in Japan, so many people were affected, Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant leaks radioactive material continues, Japan is facing a huge crisis. Meanwhile, the world's automobile production has been interrupted. Can be said that the earthquake also made the world aware of Japan to the global automotive industry influence.

    Since 2000, the Japanese auto industry production base to Japan's Kyushu and the Northeast regions. In particular, the new factory are mostly concentrated in the Northeast region. For example, the Toyota Motor Group's car production plant from the company headquarters in Central to Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture Miyagi County moved to the village scale, starting from January 2011 the new headquarters for the European manufacturing plant Toyota "Yaris." Soon after, many related parts and components manufacturers have been followed into the Northeast region, and return to work affected the Central car plant in more than a month after the earthquake of April 18.

    Tochigi addition to Honda, Nissan, but also gathered in the main production base of auto parts manufacturers. Where each company was set up factories, mainly due to the earthquake history of the region, with less reason. But this time, Honda's R & D Honda Technical Research Institute (Headquarters: Saitama Prefecture and light city) Tochigi R & D base is also affected by the earthquake badly.

    Not only Toyota and Honda, most of the Japanese auto industry were affected by this earthquake.

    In automated production facilities in the event of earthquakes, the production line will stop automatically. Plant will first ensure the safety of workers employed, and then confirm that the affected plant and production line level. But this disaster, Miyagi, Fukushima Prefecture plant in coastal areas after the earthquake suffered a tsunami.

    Can not imagine the damage degree. Parts manufacturers affected, its impact on not only Japan, but also spread to the world's leading manufacturers of production base.

    In order to protect Japan's domestic factory production line running, Toyota, Honda's U.S. factories have started to lay-off; U.S. GM electric car "VOLT" is also forced to shut down the production line. If you interrupt the supply of parts from Japan, the U.S. auto plant will not be able to maintain the operation.

    While the Japanese auto makers take into account the appreciation of the yen, tariffs and other issues, the foreign company has committed to achieve 100% local production. But the core of modular components or by the unit in Japan to obtain information. Europe's Peugeot Citroen line interrupted. The reason is that diesel engine exhaust gas purification device of diesel particulate filter (DPF) of the core components are produced in northeastern Japan.

    Diamond-shaped structure of the auto industry

    Honda motorcycle factory in Brazil stopped. The reason is that Honda's motorcycle production, first from Japan to Thailand will be the core components of the mother plant, from Thailand and then assembled into a module supply to other production bases around the world.

    As long as the lack of a spare parts, all of the production line will break, this is inevitable. Cars can be a gathering of precision parts and components of products, tens of thousands of small parts can not be a normal driving.

    It can be said has been based on car manufacturers for the automotive industry apex of the pyramid structures.

    Supply of finished products to the automotive parts manufacturer is a supplier of well below secondary and tertiary suppliers. However, this earthquake to the automotive industry in Japan to re-recognize the scope of the supply chain is not a more down to the more widely, with some key technology components to rely on specific companies can supply. In other words, the industrial structure is not a triangle but a diamond. Automobile manufacturers from their own point of view, no doubt hoping to expand primary, secondary suppliers to decentralized procurement source. But some lower level components, all of the primary, secondary suppliers rely on the same three sources of supply, it becomes a diamond structure.