Production at Esztergom’s Suzuki Factory Halts Due to Red Sea Confrontation

Hungary Today 2024.01.16.

Work at the Suzuki factory in Esztergom (northern Hungary) will be suspended from January 15 to 21 due to delays in the production of engines in Japan. The car parts will not arrive on time due to transport problems in the Red Sea, reports Világgazdaság.

Production of the Vitara and S-Cross models at Suzuki’s Hungarian plant will stop this week, the company announced.

The manufacturing shutdown will last from January 15 to 21. The stoppage is justified by by the interruption of Red Sea transport,

Suzuki wrote Reuters in an email, saying that the halt had to be imposed because of delays in the delivery of Japanese-made engines. They also said that production at the Esztergom plant was scheduled to resume from January 22.

Production at the Esztergom factory. Photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter

Car makers Tesla and Chinese Geely-owned Volvo Car, announced in the second half of last week that they were suspending work in Europe because of transport problems in the Red Sea. As The European Conservative reports, electric car giant Tesla has revealed that it will shut down its primary manufacturing plant in Grünheide, Germany for two weeks, citing an attack on shipping in the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Tesla is halting most output at its factory in Germany. The EV maker says it’s running short of parts due to the chaos in global shipping sparked by attacks on vessels in the Red Sea https://t.co/6FelxE507S pic.twitter.com/yE5r6dTMLh

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 12, 2024

Tesla’s difficulties mirror those of the Swedish-based car manufacturer Volvo, which has been hit by the slowdown in the Red Sea. The company has halted production at its Belgian facilities for three days in response to a 60% slowdown in trade through the Red Sea in December alone.

The Red Sea crisis has left Europe, and Germany in particular, vulnerable, with the latest economic indicators showing European exports down by 1.9%, mainly due to turmoil in the Middle East.

Experts warn that the attacks could have serious consequences for Asia-Pacific imports.

While U.S. forces continue to engage in a firefight with Iranian-backed militias, various EU Member States, led by France, have actively avoided joining the U.S.-British military response to the Houthi attacks.

The spectacular effect of Houthi attacks from Yemen in the Red Sea:

95% of container ships are forced to circumnavigate Africa

⏳ 22-28 days more to reach Europe

Transport costs quadrupled pic.twitter.com/s3VcLlZTPg

— Xavi Ruiz (@xruiztru) January 13, 2024

Fact

Following the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis (Iran-backed rebel group that considers Israel an enemy) began firing drones and rockets at Israel. On November 19, the Houthis hijacked a merchant ship in the Red Sea and have since attacked more than two dozen other ships with drones, missiles, and speedboats. U.S.-led naval forces have thwarted many of the attacks. The Houthis claim that they target ships that are Israeli-owned, flying the Israeli flag, or bound for Israeli ports. However, many of them have no connection with Israel. The major shipping companies no longer use the Red Sea – through which nearly 15% of global maritime trade passes – and instead use a much longer route around South Africa.

The Government Condemns South Africa's Legal Attack on Israel

South Africa called on the International Court of Justice to issue an interim order for Israel to suspend military operations in Gaza.Continue reading

Via Világgazdaság, Reuters, The European Conservative; Featured image via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter