Coronavirus could cut China auto production by up to 2 per cent this year, S&P says
- Production likely to decline ‘materially’ in the first quarter as car makers forced to delay plant reopenings after Lunar New Year, S&P says
- Sales could recover after epidemic stabilises, but positive effect to be ‘mild’, rating agency says
China’s auto production is likely to decline “materially” during the first quarter and could trim overall production by as much as 2 per cent this year because the coronavirus epidemic has forced carmakers to delay reopening their plants, according to S&P Global Ratings.
Many carmakers had already closed their factories for two weeks in January for the Lunar New Year holiday that began on January 25, and have since been asked to keep their workers at home through at least February 9 as local health officials try to contain the deadly viral outbreak.
“In our view, auto sales is likely to decline in the next one to two months,” S&P analysts Claire Yuan, Stephen Chan and Xin Hui Zu, said in a research note. “Auto dealers are delaying business resumption. At the same time, people are trying to avoid going to public places.”
Besides, some buyers had already brought forward their purchases to December last year to beat the January rush, the analysts said.
