The crisis at MG Rover has already started to have an impact on jobs in Wales.
TRW Automotive, which operates plants in Resolven and Pontypool, said it would have to let some staff go, while production at Rover remains halted.
A total of 42 workers are to be laid off temporarily at TRW'S plant in Resolven in the Neath Valley.
The company has warned it may also have to terminate some short-term contracts at its base in Pontypool.
Up to 25,000 people work in the motor industry in Wales and unions say they are worried more jobs could yet be at risk because of the crisis at Rover.
But most firms say they are in a better state to cope than they may have been just five years ago.
Previous scares have taught them not to depend on just one company and many have taken steps to secure a wider range of customers.
The future of MG Rover's Longbridge plant has implications for 600 jobs in Wales, industry figures have warned.
Tim Williams, from the Welsh Automotive Forum (WAF), said a knock-on effect could be felt at component companies.
Rover contracts
But Professor Garel Rhys, Cardiff University's head of automotive studies, said Welsh firms supplied a wide range of different manufacturers.
He said it was a "bit of luck" that the Welsh industry did not have a car plant, and therefore did not have all of its eggs in one basket.
"What we have are component firms that supply a large number of customers into a large number of countries," he said.
Stuart Toye, of Cardiff steel fabrication firm, Metalcraft, said he had three more Rover contracts lined up but had heard nothing since January.
He said: "Even if they were to place new contracts we would need to review it, because we would need the money up front. We can't afford that sort of hit".
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