Autoliv Japan Operations Unhurt by Quake

With most of the automotive supply base still trying to recover after Friday's huge earthquake, every piece of news coming from Japan, from the car makers and suppliers who conduct business there, comes as a breath of fresh air aimed to cool down the overheating rumor mill in the industry.

Among the first to report good news, supplier Autoliv released today a press statement, saying it has finished assessing the damage and drawing the appropriate conclusions. The supplier operates four plants in Japan (main facility in Tsukuba, a plant in Atzugi, another one in Taketoyo and one in Hiroshima), populated with 1,700 people. Autoliv says that none of the people have been hurt and its operations are safe.

Only one of the facilities operated by Autoliv has been slightly damage during the 8.9 quake, but not enough to cause a stop in production. Autoliv says that its suppliers in Japan have also been spared, meaning they can resume work as soon as possible.

“As a result, the financial impact on Autoliv from the earthquake is expected to be small”, says the supplier. Even so, the big number of other automotive companies affected by the quake and tsunami makes it very hard to appreciate when the Autoliv parts will actually begin being fitted into the cars.

“The impact of lost production will depend on when customers will resume vehicle production, and if the customers will try to recover any lost production during the current production suspension,” adds the supplier.

In Japan, Autoliv manufactures in Japan airbags, seatbelts, steering wheels and steering wheel assemblies.