Denso could halt some production at Spanish plant on coronavirus shortages

MADRID -- A Spanish plant majority owned by Denso is prepared to halt some production of auto electronics components because of a shortage of parts from China due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The first production line at the factory in Malaga could be stopped from March 16, said the plant's managing director Blanca Hermana.

The line produces car audio components.

"We are working so we don't have to stop, and that's what we're hoping for. But we have taken the preventive measures to deal with this situation as the components are arriving with great difficulty," Hermana said.

The factory is majority owned by Japanese supplier Denso, with information technology firm Fujitsu also holding a stake.

The stoppage of the audio line will affect 38 employees, but the suspension of other lines, making mostly auto electronics, could affect 336 out of 449 workers in the Malaga factory, according to Diario Sur, the main Malaga daily newspaper.

Hermana said the factory had so far been managing by using contingency supplies and shipments that were already on the way to Spain when the outbreak started in China, sending factories and workers into lockdown.

Although suppliers may have resumed work in China, deliveries take between three and five weeks.

Without giving details, she said other suppliers were in a worse situation than the factory, and it was those who would likely be responsible for stopping the first car production lines in Spain.

"Most of the parts needed to make cars in Spain are produced in China," she said.