TOYOTA and Honda have temporarily stopped operations at its Malaysian plants due to the second movement-control order (MCO 2.0), reports Nikkei Asia.

This is because automotive assembly is considered as a non-essential industry, which is not allowed to function during the MCO.

The report said Honda had shut down two of its facilities on Wednesday while Toyota did the same on Thursday.

Honda has plans to restart operations on January 26, which is also the date the MCO ends.

Toyota on the other hand said “a decision will be made later on.”

Perodua also discontinued production on Thursday. 

The second national car maker sold 220,000 vehicles last year, controlling more than 40% of market share.

Auto assembly was initially listed as an essential industry, but it was then taken off the list at the last minute.

Malaysia is the third largest auto manufacturer in Southeast Asia, after Thailand and Indonesia.

Auto production fell by roughly 19% to 430,000 vehicles in the first eleven months of 2020.

In 2019, Toyota manufactured roughly 61,000 vehicles in Malaysia, while Honda’s annual capacity is 300,000 two-wheelers and 100,000 four-wheelers.

On Monday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin reinstated the MCO in six states from January 13 to 26. 

The MCO is implemented in Penang, Selangor, the federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Malacca, Johor and Sabah while the conditional MCO is in place in Pahang, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Perlis and Sarawak, which have the fewest active Covid-19 cases currently, will remain in the recovery MCO phase. – January 15, 2021.