Vietnam supplier resumption to reboot Japan auto industry

The resumption of auto part factories in Vietnam is set to contribute to the recovery of Japanese automakers struggling with a supply shortage due to Covid-19.

The three Vietnam factories of Japan’s Furukawa Electric, which make wire harnesses for cars, are expected to soon return to full capacity.

Factory floors “have returned to a position where they can respond to requests from a client,” Furukawa Electric President Keiichi Kobayashi said.

The fourth Covid-19 wave has forced most southern companies to operate under restrictions, but since October, utilization rates at all three factories in Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre Province have been recovering steadily.

Vietnam was the source of about 40 percent of Japan’s wire harness imports last year, with pandemic restrictions having forced Toyota Motor and seven other Japanese automakers to cut September production in half compared to a year earlier.

Yazaki and Sumitomo Electric Industries also restoring production at their Vietnamese plants could further help support a production comeback in Japan’s auto sector.