Global automakers, including Volkswagen and Toyota, are racing to assess damage to cars and facilities after two massive explosions rocked the port city of Tianjin, China’s largest auto import hub.
The blasts that tore through a warehouse storing volatile chemicals in the northeastern city late on Wednesday were so strong that they damaged buildings several kilometers away.
French automaker Renault SA said that nearly 1,500 of its imported cars had been burned, while Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries said that more than 100 cars imported from Japan and awaiting customs clearance in a warehouse two kilometers away from the blast site had been damaged by broken windows.
Japanese auto giant Toyota said that the blasts broke windows at its car assembly, logistics and research facilities, which are jointly run with China FAW Group Corporation. Thankfully, operations at the Toyota facilities had been closed for a week-long summer holiday and there were no reported injuries, although a company spokesman declined to say whether it could resume production as normal on Monday.
"In our current view, the damage isn't that severe," a China-based Toyota spokesman said.
Nearly 2,750 vehicles from Volkswagen were also reportedly damaged from the blast, according to Automotive News China, although the German automaker said in a statement that it did not yet have the official tally of how many of its vehicles have been destroyed.
While the Tianjin port is out of service and the damaged vehicles are assessed, Volkswagen will make deliveries via ports in Shanghai and Guangzhou, the company said in its statement.
"At this time, we have already begun evaluating the state of our vehicles in all storage facilities at the Port of Tianjin," Volkswagen said. "Under no circumstances will any cars damaged in this terrible accident make it to market."
A VW spokesman said that the company currently has a task force in Tianjin and is primarily concerned with the well-being of its employees.
Roughly 40 percent of cars imported to China pass through Tianjin, amounting to more than half a million units worth 372 billion yuan ($61 billion) in 2014, according to data from the Xinhua News Agency.
Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. also said that they were checking their cars parked around the port, while Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. confirmed to have had 4,000 cars near the blast but did not have specific details to the extent of the damage.
BMW AG said that it has two vehicle distribution centers near the port, but the damage is currently unknown as authorities have cordoned off the area.
Mazda Motor Corp. said that over 50 cars imported from Japan were also damaged and that one of its showrooms was closed on Thursday after its windows shattered.
According to the latest official figures, 85 people have been killed and 721 others have been hospitalized due to the blast.