Car losses in Tianjin become clearer

Toyota announced on Saturday that its Tianjin factory is far from the explosion site, and it was not undergoing any production during the blasts as its employees were on summer vacation.

Toyota was the world's largest automaker for years until Volkswagen replaced its position in the first half of 2015.

According to research firm IHS Automotive, a prolonged halt of operations in Tianjin could be costly for Toyota. IHS estimated the blasts could lead to a production loss of 2,200 cars every day.

Toyota has three assembly lines in Tianjin, which produced 432,340 units last year, according to HIS.

Sanxiang Metropolis Daily, a newspaper from Hunan province, reported on Wednesday that some 4S stores in Changsha, the provincial capital, have been affected by the explosions in Tianjin, and the price of some imported cars has risen.

According to the newspaper, a salesperson from the Land Rover 4S store in Changsha said customers have to wait for a long time to receive deliveries, but the store won't raise the price of its cars.

A salesperson from the Renault 4S store in the same city said customers will likely have to wait four to six months to receive their ordered cars, and the price of imported cars will go up, the newspaper reported.

Fitch Ratings said in a report on Tuesday that the insured losses from the blasts in the port of Tianjin are likely to range from $1 billion to $1.5 billion, and motor insurance is predicted to be a major sector of all claims.

On Aug 16, the Tianjin Port Public Security Bureau received a 2-million-yuan ($312,600) settlement from China United Insurance Co, for damage to 27 cars.

Shanghai Securities News reported on Wednesday that Renault had insured its cars for 500 million yuan and that the company's lawyers had arrived in Tianjin.

Lin from Renault told China Daily on Wednesday that all 1,500 of the automaker's damaged cars are insured, but had no further information about compensation as the explosion area is still restricted for safety reasons.

Wang from Volkswagen said all the company's 2,746 damaged cars are insured. "As for details of compensation, it is unclear until the insurance company can go inside the site," he said.

There is still no precise number for vehicles damaged in the blasts. Gasgoo.com reported on Tuesday that more than 10,000 vehicles were destroyed in the explosions and the total loss is expected to be more than 4 billion yuan.

Contact the writer at duxiaoying1@chinadaily.com.cn

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