The recent devastating earthquake has prevented eight major Japanese automakers from producing a total of 356,600 vehicles amid substantially curtailed operations, according to figures released by the companies by Friday.

As many remain uncertain about when their plants will resume full-fledged operations due largely to parts shortages, the figure is likely to increase.

The impact of the March 11 9.0-magnitude quake could eventually be smaller as some manufacturers are expected to raise output once full-fledged operations resume.