Cars For Sale Blog The Japanese Car Shortage: When Will it End?
Jim Marinelli 
Months after Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami, the economic aftershocks are still being felt by Japanese car manufacturers and the dealerships that depend on them. The inability of such car giants as Honda and Toyota to manufacture new cars and needed parts has led to dwindling inventories and sales. With summer being the prime time for auto sales, the question for many dealers is how much longer will the car shortage last? The Northeastern region of Japan was the hardest hit. It’s in that region that most of the 20-30 thousand parts that it takes to build a Japanese car were manufactured. In the wake of the double devastation, many parts plants were forced to shut down production for weeks on end, while others never recovered. As a result, predictors from Detroit put the number of vehicles that will not be produced and put into the marketplace as a result of the disaster at a staggering 2.8 million vehicles. For U.S. dealerships this dramatic depletion in inventory has been difficult to weather, especially since many of the more popular gas-saving models are Japanese made. One way dealerships are making due until new inventory arrives is by buying and selling popular used cars, although many report that these are getting more and more difficult to come by. Fortunately, new reports indicate that Japanese new car production should return to normal by the end of the summer. Although the news in encouraging, dealers still must wait the 30-45 days it takes to build and ship a new car to the U.S. Many enterprising dealers are taking pre-orders for the more popular cars such as the Prius, Acura TSX, Honda Civic Si and Honda Fit. But with uncertainty as to the numbers and models of cars they’ll actually be getting in, many customers are opting to wait. Until then, dealers are holding on to the hope that soon theirs supplies will be sufficient to meet an ever-growing demand. About the Author: Jim Marinelli is a freelance writer for Zonar. Zonar provides RFID chips as well as vehicle maintenance software, tracking and operations solutions for public and private fleets. Zonar is a privately held company headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Tags: • marketplace • detroit • toyota • honda • dealerships • tsunami • earthquake • japanese • new cars • how much • used cars • auto sales • buying and selling • vehicle maintenance • maintenance software •
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The Japanese Car Shortage: When Will it End?
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