Honda Motor is preparing to pause vehicle production at several plants in Japan and China in the coming weeks, reported Bloomberg.

The pause comes as the global shortage of semiconductors continues to disrupt automotive manufacturing.

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A company spokesperson said that Honda will stop output at plants in Japan on 5 and 6 January.

The company has not identified which of its plants in Japan will be impacted.

In China, all three factories operated by Guangqi Honda Automobile are due to shut down from 29 December to 2 January.

Guangqi Honda Automobile is a joint venture between Honda and Guangzhou Automobile Group.

Honda had previously indicated it expected to restore disrupted production from last month.

The fresh suspension plans suggest that parts availability remains unstable despite recent moves to ease supply constraints.

Globally, vehicle manufacturers have been adjusting or cutting production schedules after China blocked exports from the Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia.

The move has affected supplies from the company’s Chinese facilities.

China dropped export curbs on Nexperia chips at the start of November, which helped alleviate some pressure on shipments and was seen as a step back from tensions over the company.

Following discussions with China, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs also put on hold its use of the Goods Availability Act at Nexperia, a tool it had invoked in October to secure continuity of production.

Honda has been among the manufacturers most affected by the shortage.

The company has revised its vehicle sales outlook down to 3.34 million units from an earlier projection of 3.62 million units.

It had already scaled back or temporarily halted operations at certain North American plants because of limited chip supply.

Nexperia, owned by China-based company Wingtech Technology, produces semiconductors used in automotive control systems, including components that power functions such as windscreen wiper activation and electric window operation.

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