Honda: China plants back to normal by August
Honda Motor Co. says its China plants will return to normal production by August as the parts shortage caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan continues to ease.
Honda has two production joint ventures in China, with Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group and Dongfeng Motor Group Co. The two plants have significantly reduced production since mid-March as parts from Japan have been difficult to get.
As a result, Honda's sales in China slumped 25 percent year-on-year in April to 41,293 units.
With parts supply gradually recovering, Honda's two joint ventures will "each recover to or exceed normal levels," the company said in a statement.
Despite the impact of the earthquake on Honda's China production, the automaker continues to expand the production capacity of the two joint ventures. By the end of 2012, Honda says the combined annual capacity of the two plants will increase to 870,000 units, up from 650,000 units now.
In 2010, Honda sold 646,660 vehicles in China, up 12 percent on an annual basis. In the first four months of this year, its China sales dropped 6 percent to 206,986 units, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
