Pandemic forces Japan carmakers to slash global output 30%

'We don't see the end of the tunnel,' one executive says

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An assembly line worker at Nissan Motor's U.S. auto plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. © Reuters

EMI OKADA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Coming on the heels of shutting down European plants, Toyota Motor and other Japanese automakers are suspending U.S. production to fight the new coronavirus, moves that will bring down their global output by around a third.

"Just as we were finally able to restart operations in China, we are facing the outbreaks in Europe and North America," a carmaker executive said, noting that "we don't see the end of the tunnel."

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