Mazda Motor said on Monday it has given up restarting operations by the year-end at a factory in Hiroshima Prefecture where a fire broke out last Wednesday.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Kyodo News said the stoppage of the Ujina No. 1 factory will force an output cut of 7,832 vehicles, citing the affiliate of Ford Motor Co.
But Mazda will arrange for the Ujina No. 2 factory adjacent to the crippled plant to make 140 Demio subcompact cars on behalf of the No. 1 plant.
The fire destroyed 9,200 square metres of the 45,600 square-meter paint-coating facility at the 180,000-square-metre No. 1 factory, forcing 1,000 workers to evacuate.
The incident has forced the automaker to scrap the 200 vehicles damaged by the fire, Mazda said.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataOutput at the Ujina No. 1 factory has accounted for 30% of the automaker’s domestic output.
Mazda wants to return the factory’s operations to normal as soon as possible in 2005, company officials said earlier.
The No. 1 plant, capable of assembling 268,000 vehicles annually, was opened in November 1966. It produces RX-8 sports cars and Verisa passenger cars in addition to the Demio, Kyodo News said.
