TOKYO -- Japanese automakers have put plant construction on hold around the world as the coronavirus outbreak spreads, reassessing plans to scale up capacity amid an increasingly clouded market outlook.
Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor recently informed officials in the U.S. state of Alabama that they will postpone the opening of a $1.6 billion joint venture plant there. The state's governor had issued a stay-at-home order earlier in the month to contain the spread of virus infections.