The temporary ceasing of car manufacturing factories in Japan has been happening for quite some time now mainly due to the global chip shortage and COVID-19 lockdowns. Honda is the latest automaker that will be going to another phase of production cut for two of its factories in its homeland.
In a report by Reuters, Honda is planning to cut the production by 50 percent of its Suzuka and Saitama factories starting this month. It will follow the previous production stoppage of Honda, including other Japanese automakers such as Toyota, earlier this year due to the rising Omicron variant.
Honda said that the continuous semiconductor shortages and uncertain geopolitical affairs caused delays in logistics and parts arrival. This has been the issue since the COVID-19 first made its global outbreak in 2020. Currently, automakers are finding ways to bounce back in the car market as quarantine restrictions are starting to ease in some areas of the world.
The Suzuka plant will reportedly cut its production by half for the month of April. It has been around in the automaker’s operations since 1960, producing vehicles such as the Honda Fit, Shuttle, and N-Series Kei cars. Situated close to the plant is the Suzuka Circuit where the company tests its new models such as the all-new Honda Civic Type R.
The production cut should not last for long
Meanwhile, Honda plans to reduce the production at the Saitama plant by a third this April. It should be a short inconvenience as the company is looking to restore the operations back to full in early May.
Locally, the distribution of Honda cars shouldn’t be affected too much by the said production cut as many of the units in Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.’s (HCPI) lineup are sourced from Thailand. The Honda Odyssey was the sole model in the local lineup that used to be imported from Japan.
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