Dongfeng Nissan on Tuesday denied media allegations that its Xiangfan plant had been forced to halt production, the Beijing News reported, according to Gasgoo.com.
The rebuttal came after media allegations the factory was suffering a parts shortage due to the recent earthquake.
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Guo Wei, head of Dongfeng Nissan’s marketing department, said that the site had enough auto parts to continue normal operation until early April, and would not decrease production before then.
However, dealers have already said they were encountering difficulty in securing spare parts for the Nissan Teana, according to Gasgoo. The car’s VQ engine is made entirely from components imported from a factory located only 60km (35 miles) from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn at about the same time told workers at the factory he wanted to bring the site back to full production levels by early June at the latest.
Speaking at the Iwaki engine factory, Ghosn said he had no intention of closing the site.
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By GlobalDataGhosn said he wanted to have the factory ready to start production by the end of April and to resume full production in June, while keeping an eye on suppliers.
The automaker earlier said it aimed to manufacture on a “normal process” basis, with deliveries to come from suppliers from mid-April, but added that deliveries of some parts may take longer to return to normal.
Reuters, citing Japan’s Nikkei business daily, said Nissan Motor expected its April output in China to fall about 10% below target, hit by supply chain disruptions.
Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle will slash production by idling plants on weekends till mid-April, the daily said.
Overtime will continue on weekdays and the firm has not set a production schedule for beyond mid-month, the paper reported.
Dongfeng Nissan is having trouble procuring engine parts from Hitachi, the Nikkei said.
