Nissan Motor Co. said it will resume normal operations in mid-April at nearly all of its domestic plants.
After the March 11 tsunami, Nissan shut down its entire auto production in Japan from March 14 to 16. All auto plants have been running at limited capacity due to parts shortages, but the company expects to start receiving supplies again.
"However, as the delivery of parts will still take time to be fully re-established, operation levels will still be limited, depending on the delivery status from suppliers," the company said Wednesday in a statement.
An engine plant damaged by the tsunami will take longer to restore. Nissan said the Iwaki factory in Fukushima Prefecture — one of its two engine factories in Japan — will begin partial operations in mid-April. It hopes the plant will be completely back online by the end of April.
Nissan spokesman Mitsuru Yonekawa said the Iwaki factory still has no running water. The factory typically makes 376,000 engines a year.
The automaker will temporarily suspend vehicle assembly between Monday and April 8 ahead of the resumption of normal operations, it said.