After returning to work for one month, the supply chain problem has been solved. What about consumer demand?

One month after China resumed work, the epidemic still put pressure on the demand for automobiles, and the automobile industry is currently coping with a slow and painful recovery.

The CEO of Yorozu, a Nissan auto parts supplier, said that one month after China resumed work, the coronavirus crisis still put pressure on the demand for automobiles, and the automobile industry is currently coping with a slow and painful recovery.

China's car factory closed for several weeks in early February, and now factories in Europe, the United States and other parts of Asia are also closing.

Although supply chain disruption and spare parts shortage are a problem, the bigger challenge is insufficient consumer demand, although the epidemic has increased the attraction of people using private cars instead of public transportation.

Akihiko, CEO of Yorozu? Stowe said: "At first we couldn't produce because of the supply chain problem, but we solved this problem through the backup plan." Yorozu provides suspension systems for Toyota, Honda, Daimler, General Motors and Volkswagen, the world's largest automakers.

"Now consumers are depressed, which actually leads to a decline in production in Japan and other places," Stowe said in a telephone interview.

Yorozu's factories in Thailand and Indonesia have also reduced production, while all its factories in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and India have been closed.

In contrast, in Wuhan, where the epidemic broke out, the production capacity of two auto parts factories in Yorozu is now 80%, and more than 90% of the 580 workers have returned to the production line. However, the store said that this kind of production was mainly to make up for the decrease in inventory, and did not stimulate "actual demand".

Most car dealers in China have resumed operations, and Wuhan ended its 76-day city closure on April 8. ? Goldman Sachs analysts predict that with the support of local government subsidies for new cars, the passenger flow of dealers may have returned to the level of 20 19, and the decline in weekly sales in March has narrowed.

However, Tang, a senior research analyst at Mizuho Bank and an expert in the automotive industry in China? Jin predicted that in 2020, the sales of new cars in China will drop by 65,438+00% compared with the previous year. The shadow of coronavirus has not yet dispersed from consumers' minds.

Stowe said that because of the lessons learned from the coronavirus crisis, Yorozu will speed up the standardization process of accessories. At present, of the 65,438+052 parts produced by the company in Wuhan, 965,438+0% can be produced in the company's factories in other parts of the world, but the other 9% parts proved to be crucial during the closure of the China factory.

In February this year, when Yorozu's factory in Wuhan closed, the company asked Daimler and Nissan employees to take back the spare parts in stock to make up for the reduction in production. The company said that if the Wuhan factory is closed for a longer time, they will consider importing parts from Mexico to China.

With the resumption of production in China, the company now ships some parts made in Wuhan to the United States at the request of automobile manufacturers.

Stowe said that Yorozu will not face any shortage of funds in the near future, because the company has four and a half months of buffered cash and bank loans. He said: "Because we never know when the company will be in crisis, we ensure that the balance sheet is stable."

Nevertheless, the company's plan is that once the epidemic is under control, they will re-evaluate all business continuity plans, including the question of how much inventory to keep. After learning from this crisis, the company will need to discuss new ideas with customers.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.