Blaze Engulfs RX-8 Factory

Production of the Mazda RX-8 coupé has been halted by a major factory fire in Japan. The blaze started in a paint-drying furnace at the Ujina 1 plant in Hiroshima, 400 miles from Tokyo. It took emergency crews seven hours to extinguish the flames, and the neighbouring Ujina 2 site was shut down to ensure the safety of employees.

Auto Express Car Reviews

20th December 2004

A UK spokesman told Auto Express that the impact of the incident on worldwide supply of the RX-8 is still being assessed. "It's too early to tell whether this will affect our operations, but the factory was due to close down over Christmas anyway," he said.

The incident started around three hours after approximately 1,000 workers had begun their evening shift. All were evacuated, and no one was injured. The swift action of the local firemen meant the damage was restricted to Mazda's Ujina 1 factory, where models including the rotary-engined RX-8 and the Japan-only Demio supermini are built. Annual production at the two facilities totals more than 500,000 cars.

The company's stock fell by 3.1 per cent when news of the incident hit the Japanese markets.

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