Domestic output capacity reduced until March, says Honda

Honda Motor said the two of its domestic manufacturing sites will run at 90% of capacity until early March because of a shortage of semiconductors.

The chip shortage, which has hit automakers worldwide, emerges from a confluence of factors as automakers, which closed plants for two months during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, rival against the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies. A factory fire suffered by Japanese chipmaker Renesas this year is also cited as a reason behind the chip shortage.

Honda’s Saitama factory and two production lines at its Suzuka plant will observe their production capacity reduced by about 10% at least until early March, struck by the chip shortage and disruptions due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the automaker said.