Citing a report by A.T. Kearney, Reuters said that Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other Japanese automakers weren't able to produce about 341,000 cars that would have been bound for consumers in the United States. Of those 341,000, only about 42 percent would go to loyal buyers willing to wait for vehicles.
Those figures include cars that would have been built at automakers' plants in North America, which were also affected by shortages of Japan-sourced parts. While supplier and vehicle manufacturer shutdowns also hit brands from Detroit, Korea and Europe, the effects were minimal by comparison.
Over the long run
Naturally, that loss of production is a big deal to Japanese automakers - and not just because it represents around 200,000 near-term sales. Buyers who leave a brand aren't as inclined to jump ship again, meaning that a number of customers may have strayed from Japanese brands for good, or at least for a while.
The biggest gainers will likely be from Korea - Hyundai and Kia - and Detroit - Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Buyers of more expensive cars - like Japan's Lexus and Infiniti models - are generally more inclined to wait for inventory to build back up.
New vehicle sales are expected to hit around 13.2 million cars in the U.S. this year, so 200,000 units is a fairly small slice of the overall pie. Still, those are 200,000 consumers - enough to fill every garage in Shreveport, Louisiana, one of the few places with a non-Japanese car plant to be affected by the parts shortages - that Japanese automakers might have to woo back.
References
1.'Japan crisis puts...' view
