MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. Nissan may temporarily halt assembling cars at its Russian plant in St. Petersburg due to coronavirus-related shortages of Chinese-made components, a company spokesperson told TASS.
"The situation is as follows: we are now assessing the risks. There is a possibility of halting production in March if Chinese plants do not resume production on February 17 as was promised. But there is only a possibility of a temporary halt. If they [Chinese manufacturers] resume their work on schedule, everything will be fine," the source said.
At present, the car plant in St. Petersburg is working in normal regime.
"For the time being, we have plenty of everything, of all automobile components," the spokesperson added.
Russian truck maker Kamaz also said it might adjust its production plan if the novel coronavirus infection continues to spread in China and other countries that produce parts for Kamaz. The company said it continued assessing risks, but had a sufficient stock of Chinese-made components.
On December 31, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan - a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. On January 7, Chinese experts identified the infecting agent as coronavirus 2019-nCoV. The virus spread to 24 more countries outside China, including Russia. WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak in China a global health emergency.