Jump to content

How NCOV factory shutdowns might affect Singapore buyers


StreetFight3r
 Share

Recommended Posts

Aston-Martin-Feature-DBX-Factory-Wales-CarBuyer.com_.sg-21.thumb.jpg.9951aff269a6f22f98545ee1fe1dd30a.jpg

So far the industry says business as usual, but we think Singaporean car buyers could see delivery or parts delays in 2020

Now that the novel coronavirus (2019-NCOV) has hit the rest of the world, numerous carmakers have announced factory shutdowns both as a response to falling demand and as a preventative measure. 

As named in our Shutdown List (scroll down or click here), most of Europe is shutting down car production for the next two to three weeks at least.Some will only resume production in April or later, although with the entire NCOV situation everything is still touch and go. 

Mercedes-AMG-engine-A45-CLA45-45-A-CLA-2019-8.thumb.jpg.6b04d26a5a7b9668b234864592735e62.jpg

Pretty much every car factory has been shuttered from now til mid-April

The summary: All of European car production has been shut down except for small-volume makers, North America is following suit, although its output is not as relevant to Singapore since very few US-made cars come here.

The good news is that so far it seems to be business as usual for Japan, Thailand, and South Korea, meaning buyers or owners from mainstream brands may not be affected.

That situation may obviously change, however. Currently Japanese carmakers are adjusting their output continuously. Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda quoted to Reuters: ” “At this point, we can’t foresee what’s ahead for automakers.”

While South Korea seems to have its COVID situation under control, cases are still on the rise in Japan and in fact the country is reducing some of its measures. Cases are also still on the rise in Thailand with no widespread measures yet announced inside the country.

CarBuyer has contacted most of the major brands and dealership groups in Singapore to ask them to comment on possible delays for customers – you can see those below.

Quote

“The good news is that so far it seems to be business as usual for Japan, Thailand, and South Korea, meaning buyers or owners from mainstream brands may not be affected.”

The summarised version is that dealers have enough stock on hand, while none of the major mainstream East Asian brands seem to be majorly affected yet.

But from a professional perspective, we say that buyers of Continental vehicles can possibly expect to see delivery delays in future.

As some companies have pointed out, there’s usually a buffer of existing stock to help meet demand. But if the long the shutdowns run of course, the stock dwindles and that’s when delays happen.

Additionally, it’s not just new cars that will be affected, since some automotive suppliers are also shuttering their factories for the time being. That affects new cars – the situation in China in January already created production delays – and also the supply of spare parts too.

With many dealers adopting split-team and more work-from-home initiatives, some may have leaner staffing situations now and service or delivery may take longer.

CarBuyer has reached out to all the major car distributor/dealerships in Singapore asking for information on the situation

Borneo Motors – Lexus, Suzuki, Toyota 

Quote

“At the moment, we are not experiencing any delays in car or parts delivery, and therefore it is still business as usual.” 

BMW Group Asia – BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce

2019-BMW-7-Series-Launch-Singapore-1.thumb.jpg.a6232ae8cfd114e86715ff8967ee26d4.jpg

Mr Christopher Wehner, Managing Director, BMW Group Asia.


Will customers experience any delays in delivery?

In preparation for the impact of COVID-19, BMW Asia increased stocks in order to meet customer demand. In Singapore, both Performance Motors Limited and Eurokars Habitat are in full operation with the necessary health and safety measures in place. We will do our best to continue delivering products to our customers in a timely manner with a premium experience.

What about future orders?

BMW AG has begun to shut down its European plants as well as Plant Rosslyn in South Africa. These will close by the end of the week, and the interruption of production for these plants is currently planned to run until April 19. At this time it is difficult to evaluate how future orders will be impacted. This will depend on demand in the coming months, as well as deliveries from our production plants in Europe. We are closely monitoring the situation, and will react quickly and flexibly.

How long do you see this situation lasting?

Any long-term effects on deliveries due to COVID-19, and the associated volatility of the financial markets, cannot be assessed at this time. BMW AG and our office in Singapore will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will keep our employees and partners updated regularly. The BMW Group knows how to manage difficult situations, and we have proven this many times in the past. 

Cycle & Carriage: Citroen, DS, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi in Singapore 

Quote

“So far we have no delays and are on schedule for all deliveries, despite Business Contingency Plans being activated for sales and vehicle preparation teams. From what we can see now, there shouldn’t be any delays for future orders. Unless more disruptions come our way, which is something we cannot see at the moment.” 

Eurokars Group: MG, Mazda, Mini, McLaren, Porsche, Rolls-Royce

Mr Shaun Domoney, Chief Operating Officer, Eurokars Group

Quote

“At this point in time, we are not expecting any major impact based on our planned deliveries across all the brands that we represent despite temporary closure of the production facilities of various brands. However, as new developments related to the coronavirus are emerging and evolving dynamically at a rapid rate across the world, we will continue to monitor the local and global situation closely. What’s very important at the moment is to ensure that our employees and customers are safe and healthy.” 

Nissan Asia Oceania 

Is there any delay on current Singapore customer deliveries?

Quote

“There is minimal impact, as the UK plant has shut down and (dealer/distributor) Tan Chong Motor Sales has enough Qashqai inventory for market demand.”

Are any plants in Japan and Thailand affected?

In Japan, we are planning or have carried out temporary production adjustments at certain plants. There has been no impact on our other plants outside China, including Thailand. We continue to monitor the situation.

Will the supply of parts be affected also?

We do not have clarity yet on the impact of the new coronavirus. The wellbeing of our employees, our business partners and our communities is our highest priority.

Volkswagen Group Singapore : Skoda, Volkswagen

IMG_5795.thumb.jpg.10f95e05438718797307e2e8d2e53ed5.jpg

Mr Ricky Tay, Managing Director, Volkswagen Group Singapore

VGS has sent out a letter to owners stating there could be possible delays due to working plans, rather than parts or production delays.

Responses from Mr Ricky Tay, Managing Director, Volkswagen Group Singapore.

Will customers experience any delays in delivery?

 Despite the shutdowns in Europe, we have assurance from our headquarters that business plans will be carried out wherever possible and that projects will continue as much as possible, to make sure there is minimal disruption in deliveries to our customers.   

In Singapore, VGS has implemented precautionary measures including work-from-home and split team arrangements to safeguard the wellbeing of our staff and that of our customers. Some of our frontline representatives and backend operations may not be at full capacity. Nonetheless, our teams are working hard and navigating all options to ensure we deliver our promise to customers as timely as possible.  

What about future orders?  

Currently, the Volkswagen brand has taken the necessary measure to suspend production at our European factories initially for an estimated ten business days only. As the COVID-19 situation is highly volatile, we will have to closely monitor the situation and manoeuvre through the uncertainties that lie ahead.  

In the meantime, we are making full use of our business continuity measures to ensure that deliveries of cars continue as planned.  

How long do you see this situation lasting?  

The coronavirus crisis is unprecedented and no one is able to gauge the extent of its impact or make a reliable forecast.  But even as the epidemic continues to expand, the Volkswagen Group will continue to operate on the basis that the health and wellbeing of our entire community remains our top priority.

The Shutdown List

We’ve included factories that are known to build cars sold in Singapore, and have omitted North American unless relevant.

BMW – has shutdown its Europe and South African factories until April 19, its US production, where it makes X series SUVs, is continuing production

Mini is stopping production until April 17 at its UK plants, while Rolls-Royce is doing similar for four weeks until mid-April

Honda – has stopped production at its UK factories, but there is no indication of its Japan or Thailand factories doing the same. 

Citroen /Peugeot/Opel – parent company PSA is closing its European factories until March 27 

Ferrari – has stopped its production in Modena, being one of the first places in Italy to face the lockdown

Fiat Chrysler – Fiat/Chrysler/Maserati has stopped production in Europe. 

Hyundai/Kia – The chaebol shut its factories in February due to NCOV but has since resumed production. 

Jaguar Land-Rover – has suspended production

Mercedes-Benz – parent company Daimler has ceased most of its European production this week

Nissan – Has stopped production at its UK Sunderland plant, which is where the Qashqai is made 

Renault – has shut its factories in France 

Toyota – has stopped European production 

Volkswagen Group – Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen – announced on Tuesday March 17 that it would stop production in Europe for two to three weeks  

Volvo – has also ceased its European output from March 26 until April 14 

 

↡ Advertisement
  • Praise 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

I think all of their replies are bo dai ji. I mean who will say something negative? It will drive ppl away from the brand. Got dai ji also will say no problem wan. Right or not? Times are already bad before the virus so why further shake the confidence of car buyers?

Edited by Watwheels
  • Haha! 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Actually Honda production in Japan are affected, and models includes Odyssey and Vezel. And if we zoomed in to the component level, maybe Mazda and Nissan Japan too.

Coronavirus Hits Honda As Chinese Parts Shortage Forces Production Cuts

Honda will cut back production at two of its Japanese factories due to parts shortages from China because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Nikkei Asian Review reports that the car manufacturer will reduce output by a few hundred vehicles at two of its plants in Saitama Prefecture. The cutbacks are expected to last for a few days beginning early this month.

The factories in question produce the Vezel SUV and the Odyssey minivan.

These two factories aren’t the only locations impacted by the coronavirus. Honda operates three plants in Wuhan, China, the city at the center of the outbreak and isn’t expected to restart production at these sites until March 11.

According to an executive at a Honda parts supplier, “components for items such as brakes and doors have shown signs of shortages,” in recent weeks. It is understood that the cutbacks will only see a reduction in output of a few hundred vehicles at the two plants.

Honda is far from the only Japanese car manufacturer to be impacted by the coronavirus.

Throughout March, Nissan will suspend Saturday and Sunday production at a subsidiary plant in Fukuoka Prefecture. In February, Nissan scaled production at this same site for four days, reducing output by several thousand vehicles. A Nissan subsidiary in Kanagawa Prefecture will suspend operations for two days in March.

Mazda has also pushed back production of several models as many of its parts are produced in the virus-hit Hubei Province of China.

  • Praise 8
Link to post
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, kobayashiGT said:

Now is got COE but no car to buy!!!!

Those who are renewing your car, go ahead and renew! 😅

then garment suck lesser from driver and how to cover those C19 handouts leh 😬😬😬

jialat lta scholars must push erp 2.0 out faster liao 😩😩😩

that is the golden egg goose 🤑🤑🤑

  • Praise 1
  • Haha! 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Internal Moderator
1 hour ago, Inlinefour said:

then garment suck lesser from driver and how to cover those C19 handouts leh 😬😬😬

jialat lta scholars must push erp 2.0 out faster liao 😩😩😩

that is the golden egg goose 🤑🤑🤑

Ya lor. Plus now there are lesser cars on the road as ppl are WFH, easier for them to implement.

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

For discussion.

Assuming some AD may face shortages of new car supply in 3 months time. Which is very likely for some popular models.

Will the AD appeal to LTA to tweak the bidding system, so that a $1 situation will not happen?

Will LTA entertain such request to prevent a freak result?  Or maybe LTA will react to mitigate the situation from happening, if not mightl look bad on the scholars year end KPIs.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Jwee85
Link to post
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Jwee85 said:

For discussion.

Assuming some AD may face shortages of new car supply in 3 months time. Which is very likely for some popular models.

Will the AD appeal to LTA to tweak the bidding system, so that a $1 situation will not happen?

Will LTA entertain such request to prevent a freak result?  Or maybe LTA will react to mitigate the situation from happening, if not mightl look bad on the scholars year end KPIs.

 

 

 

 

I suppose those that is suppose to be tail end of model life will have plenty of stocks that are shifted out from Malaysia or Australia. 

Just that because of the strict LTA homologation rule, they need to be the same exact specs.

The rest of new model would be delayed .. but its a good thing because dealer will also have problem selling. 

If your pocket is deep enough, the lower end 2.0 T from PML is going at a good price before it gets registered as a mgmt car and transfer to PPSL.

↡ Advertisement
  • Praise 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...