Employees work on a production line of Dongfeng Honda in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. 

[Photo by Guo Liangshuo/For China Daily]

Carmakers and auto suppliers in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, are resuming operations gradually after a hiatus of nearly 50 days, as the novel coronavirus outbreak appears to be receding in the city hit hardest by the epidemic.

Dongfeng Honda, a joint venture of Dongfeng Motor Corp, commenced production in Wuhan on Wednesday, two days after it got the written approval from local authorities. Dongfeng's Chinese-branded passenger vehicle subsidiary is scheduled to resume production on Thursday.

Wuhan-based Dongfeng is the country's third-largest automobile group by sales, and has over 160,000 employees. It has partnerships with international companies like Honda, Nissan, PSA and Renault.

Hubei province, especially Wuhan, is one of the most important automotive manufacturing regions in China.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, carmakers in the province produced 2.24 million vehicles in 2019, accounting for 8.8 percent of the country's total.

Besides Dongfeng and its joint ventures, US carmaker General Motors as well as auto suppliers including Valeo, Webasto and Bosch have manufacturing facilities in the province.

GM's joint venture SAIC-GM said its Wuhan plant has got the necessary approvals from the local authorities to resume production.

Statistics from the China Passenger Car Association show that carmakers in the country produced 215,000 vehicles in February, down 80.6 percent from the same month last year. Passenger vehicle sales during the month slumped 78.5 percent year-on-year to 252,000 units. During the first two months, vehicle sales totaled 1.97 million units, down 41 percent from the same period a year ago.

"Obviously, the coronavirus outbreak had a much larger effect on the industry than the Spring Festival holiday," said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of association.

He expected sales will slowly rebound in March and April before reaching the normal level in May, if the epidemic can be effectively curbed by April.

The CPCA estimated that passenger vehicle sales will fall by 8 percent this year on a yearly basis. It had expected the sales in 2020 to grow 1 percent year-on-year before the coronavirus outbreak.

International carmakers, however, are confident in the long-term potential of the Chinese market.

International Fastener Show China will set up special areas for Automobile & High-strength Fasteners Zone, Export-oriented Fastener Zone, Stainless Steel Fastener Zone, Comprehensive Fastener Zone and Branded Fastener Zone. 800+ exhibitors are going to meet you on June 22-24 at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center in this hot summer!