A day after announcing a production cut due to parts shortages Honda Motor Co. said today that it expects Japanese production to return to normal levels before year end following supply-chain disruptions caused by the country's March 11 earthquake.
"As the supply of parts remains fluid, decisions concerning production from July on will be made step-by-step while monitoring the situation, toward the expected normalization of production in Japan before the end of 2011," Honda said in a statement.
At the Gurgaon facility, Honda said it would halve production from May due to parts shortages. That plant makes the Jazz hatchback and the City sedan which has been the bestseller in the segment in India for years. In Japan, Honda's output will continue at 50 percent capacity through June, the automaker said. Outside Japan, production plans will be made case-by-case based on availability of parts.
On Friday, Toyota Motor Co. became the first automaker affected by the earthquake to provide a long-term estimate of production plans, saying it would be unable to resume normal output in Japan until November or December.
