Japanese automaker Subaru has halted vehicle production in Japan for 10 days after typhoon Hagibis which swept through the country over the weekend, dumping record rainfall.
The typhoon left a trail of destruction, including landslides, widespread flooding and power cuts across the country, killing dozens of people and forcing thousands to evacuate. It also disrupted major international sporting events including the Rugby World Cup and the annual Japanese F1 Grand Prix race.
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The company said there had not been any reports of injuries to its employees or any serious damage to its vehicle production and distribution facilities, but some of its component suppliers have suffered significant flooding – resulting in component shortages at Subaru vehicle assembly plants which are located in the Gumma Prefecture, just north of Tokyo.
Production at the Main and Yajima car plants and the Oizumi engine plant was suspended starting with Wednesday's (16 October) afternoon shift.
The company said it was providing support and manpower to help bring production back on line at its key suppliers as soon as possible but did not expect vehicle assembly to resume until 25 October.
The company said operations at its Subaru of Indiana Automotive subsidiary in the US had not been affected.
Subaru normally produces around 2,500 vehicles per day in Japan meaning it would suffer a production loss of just 11,250 vehicles – of 4.5 days of output as a two day stoppage had already been scheduled for early next week in observance of the enthronement ceremonies for the nation's next emperor.
Separate reports in Japan suggested a number of suppliers of other automakers, including Mitsubishi and Toyota, had been affected by the floods – including automotive audio equipment maker Alps Alpine, electronics supplier Panasonic, and an industrial park housing plants owned by Hitachi, Anritsu and Clarion.
