Carmaker shutdowns hint of more to come in China

High alert: A Chinese worker instals parts to a Toyota Vios at the Tianjin Toyota plant. The carmaker’s factories have been halted since Jan 10 as the local government carries out multiple rounds of mass testing for the city’s 14 million residents. — AFP

TOKYO: China’s zero tolerance approach to Covid has idled Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG (VW) factories the past week, a troubling sign for global carmakers, as the Omicron variant begins to spread in the world’s biggest auto production hub.

The two top-selling carmakers’ factories in Tianjin, 108kms south-east of Beijing, have been halted since Jan 10 as the local government carries out multiple rounds of mass testing for the city’s 14 million residents.