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Industry braces for impact of coronavirus outbreak

By Li Fusheng | China Daily | Updated: 2020-02-03 10:18

BMW displays its all-new X4 M model at the Shanghai auto show last year. [Photo by Li Fusheng/China Daily]

Massaro made the remark in an earnings conference call on Thursday, but he said delayed production could be made up in the second quarter. "We don't view this as a full-year issue at the moment," he said.

German auto supplier Bosch has 23 automotive manufacturing facilities in China and two in Wuhan. All of them are closed during the extended Spring Festival holiday.

"We're monitoring how the situation develops to see if production might be down for longer," CEO Volkmar Denner told reporters on Tuesday in Stuttgart, Germany. "We're concerned."

Tesla Inc is expecting a seven to 10-day delay in the ramp-up of the Model 3, which is being built at a recently launched Shanghai plant, according to CFO Zach Kirkhorn.

Kirkhorn discussed the impact of the disease on Tesla's operations in China during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.

"We are also in the early stages of understanding if and to what extent we may be temporarily impacted by the coronavirus," he said.

Kirkhorn added the virus may slightly impact profitability in the first quarter.

The outbreak could also hit profits at Jaguar and Land Rover, parent company Tata Motors warned on Thursday.

The epidemic is raising concerns that thousands of Chinese factory workers may struggle to get back to work next week because of extensive travel restrictions.

The Indian carmaker said the outbreak could impact its profit margin forecast of about 3 percent for the JLR unit in fiscal 2020, at a time when it was making progress on a turnaround plan to improve sales in China.

Canadian supplier Magna International said it is taking several precautions, including lengthened plant closures at its China-based facilities. Magna operates 68 facilities in China, including those used for manufacturing and engineering. The facilities combine to employ nearly 19,000 people. Two of the company's facilities are in Wuhan.

"Magna is closely monitoring all available information from the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control as well as public health authorities in various countries, inside and outside of China," Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst wrote in a statement.

"Our internal health and safety team is coordinating information and resources related to the outbreak, with our primary focus on the wellbeing of our employees."

Reuters contributed to the story.

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