Honda to cut production by half at Japanese plant in early May

Honda Motor is preparing to slash production by about 50% on two lines of one of its Japanese factories in early May because of ongoing chip shortages and COVID-19 lockdowns, the automaker said on Thursday.

The factory located in Suzuka will also reduce its production by half for the month of April, expanding the scale of the cutback from a previous announcement that it would reduce production by about a third.

The automaker said the ongoing semiconductor shortage and uncertain geopolitical affairs had caused delays in logistics and parts arrival.

A factory located in Saitama prefecture would also cut production by a third in April but is preparing to restore normal operation in early May, the automaker said.