TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest carmaker, may lose output of at least 40,000 vehicles after Japan's strongest earthquake damaged factories and crippled nuclear power plants, causing electricity shortages. Toyota closed 12 plants in the nation through March 16, Shiori Hashimoto, a spokeswoman for the Toyota City, Japan-based company, said. The manufacturer's profit will be cut by 6 billion yen ($72 million) for each day of lost operations in Japan, while Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. may each lose 2 billion yen a day, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimated. Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. also shut plants following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which police said may have killed more than 10,000 people. The disaster may trim 0.3 percent from Japan's economy as power outages cut industrial production, Nomura Holdings Inc. estimated in a report. Nissan Motor Co. suspended operations at four plants until March 16 and at two other plants until March 18, the Yokohama-based company said. The automaker earlier said 2,300 new vehicles were damaged by tsunami surges in the wake of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in Japan. Honda will halt output through March 20, reducing output by an estimated 16,600 cars and trucks and 2,000 two-wheelers, said Tomoko Takamori, a spokeswoman for the Tokyo-based company. Tokyo Electric Power Co., battling a possible meltdown at a nuclear reactor 220 kilometers (135 miles) north of Tokyo, planned rolling blackouts to conserve power. Toyota fell 7.9 percent, the most since December 2008, to close at 3,310 yen in Tokyo trading, while Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 6.2 percent to the lowest level since November. Nissan plunged 9.5 percent, and Honda declined 6.5 percent. Daihatsu Motor Co., 51 percent owned by Toyota, may lose production of 9,600 units as it closes factories through March 16, said Fumihiko Kondo, a spokesman for the Osaka-based carmaker. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to resume production at its three Japan factories March 16 after a two-day halt, Yuki Murata, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based carmaker, said Monday. Domestic production totaled 660,104 vehicles in 2010, he said. Mazda Motor Corp. will extend a production halt at four Japan plants until at least the night of March 16 due to a parts shortage. Hino Motors Ltd. said it planned a stoppage until at least March 16. Isuzu Motors Ltd. said it would stop output at its two Japan plants until March 18. Japan's automakers may be able to make up for lost output by using excess production capacity at unaffected plants and running assembly lines on overtime and during holidays.
