An automobile manufacturing plant in China. Not directly related to the content of the article. [신화 = 연합뉴스]While Shanghai, China’s ‘economic capital’, is under lockdown for the 20th day due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese auto industry officials have raised concerns that the operation of automobile manufacturing plants in China may be completely suspended from next month.
Wei Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s Intelligent Vehicle Solutions and Consumer Division, said on the 15th on China’s Weibo, “If the Shanghai production facilities do not resume operations, the All supply chain operations will be shut down.”
He predicted, “I am concerned regarding the damage to the automobile industry,” and predicted that “the economic loss and the price to be paid will be very large. “Some companies have already stopped production from the middle of this month due to the Shanghai supply chain blockade,” he added.
The day before, on the 14th of this month, He Xiaofeng, chairman of Xiaofeng, a Chinese electric vehicle start-up, said on Weibo, “If supply chain companies in Shanghai and surrounding areas cannot find a way to resume operations, all Chinese car factories will be shut down in May.” It was also written
Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Manufacturers Association, also told the Chinese newspaper network that “it will not result in a total shutdown,” but “If the shutdown of operations in Shanghai and Jilin continues, it will inevitably have a negative impact on the Chinese automobile industry.”
Shanghai has been in lockdown since the 28th of last month due to the spread of COVID-19. Because of this, the Tesla plant, which produces 2,100 cars a day, has been shut down for nearly three weeks.
Shanghai is China’s second largest automobile production area, producing 2.833,000 vehicles per year not only by Tesla, but also by American, German and Chinese companies.
As the local authorities’ lockdown measures have been prolonged, not only automobiles, but also semiconductors and electronics companies are experiencing production disruptions such as shutting down operations.
In Changchun, Jilin Province, where the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has recently surged, Ichi Motors stopped the operation of five factories on the 13th of last month, including a joint car production plant of a local brand and a foreign company.
According to the China Automobile Manufacturers Association, the number of automobiles produced in China last month was 2241,000 units and sales were 2234,000 units. It decreased by 9.1% and 11.7%, respectively, compared to the same period last year due to the followingmath of the lockdown measures due to the spread of COVID-19.
[이상현 매경닷컴 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
