Nissan North America has announced that production in its U.S. facilities will be suspended from March 20 through April 6, 2020.
The said official media advisory is an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which has reached more than 7,500 cases as of this writing.
The Nissan U.S. plants, located in Smyrna, Tennessee and Canton, Mississippi, are home to manufacturing most of the Nissan's passenger and utility vehicles – from the Altima midsize sedan to the Titan full-size pickup truck.
In line with this, Nissan said that there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus at any Nissan facility. Essential parts of the business will continue to operate, according to the announcement.
The novel coronavirus has affected the automotive industry as early as February. The 90th edition of the Geneva Motor Show has been canceled, while the 2020 New York Motor Show has been rescheduled to August, as announced last week.
Several car brands have also announced halt of operations for the next two weeks or so, all in an effort to stop the spread of the virus outbreak. Some brands, like Ford, Hyundai, and Genesis, have also offered leniency to customer payments to help alleviate the economic pains of the outbreak.
The effect of the virus outbreak on the automotive industry isn't limited to the U.S. alone. European operations of several brands have also been suspended.
As of date, the effects of the coronavirus face uncertainty as the number of cases continues to rise in the U.S., but we can all hope for the better as the country faces an economic danger.
