The production stoppage has made it difficult for dealers of Shanghai General Motors Corp. and Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co. to replenish their rapidly decreasing stocks of lead-acid batteries, the government-owned Shanghai TV station reported.

Shanghai's environmental protection agency ordered the U.S. supplier's plant to remain closed until year end after more than 30 children in the city's Kangqiao neighborhood near the plant were diagnosed with lead poisoning.

Shanghai GM and Shanghai VW are Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.'s joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen AG.

Shanghai GM produces Buicks, Chevrolets and Cadillacs while Shanghai VW builds the Volkswagen Passat, Polo, Tiguan, Touran, Santana and Lavida.

Shanghai GM's Buick vehicles and nearly all Shanghai Volkswagen's models use Johnson Controls batteries.

After running short of batteries, Buick and Volkswagen car dealers have started to put their customers on waiting lists for replacement batteries, Shanghai TV reported.

Because Johnson Controls' Shanghai plant cannot resume production before year end, Shanghai GM and Shanghai VW will have to buy batteries from other Johnson Controls plants or from other suppliers, according to the TV station.

Johnson Controls is building a battery plant in Changxin in east China's Zhejiang province. It also plans to build two more battery plants in China over the next few years to meet increasing demand.

Johnson Controls is the only battery maker in the Shanghai area that has been ordered to stop production for lead pollution.

According to Shanghai media, Shanghai Xinminyuan Auto Accessories Co., a supplier of oil reservoir caps, has been ordered to suspend operations for producing lead-containing products without proper authorization.