Honda Motor is to further cut fiscal year production in Japan and North America but boost output in China where demand is still growing.
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Honda said it now expected Japanese production of about 1.15m four-wheeled vehicles in the financial year to the end of March, another 21,000 units down on the target dropped to 1.17m just days previously.
Output in the US and Canada will fall 29,000 vehicles to 1.26m, down 14% from an earlier estimate, Agence France-Press (AFP) reported.
Honda’s North America and Japan production volume this fiscal year will be 12% down year on year, according to Reuters.
But the firm plans to boost output in China as demand there remains robust for fuel-efficient cars, a spokesman told AFP.
“We are planning to expand output capacity to respond to market needs,” he said.
Output of Civic cars and CR-V SUVs at Dongfeng Honda Automobile has risen steadily in recent years. Calendar 2008 production of 160,000 vehicles was up nearly 30%, year on year and the company is hoping to raise output to full capacity of 240,000 vehicles, bringing Honda’s total output in China to 650,000, a spokeswoman told AFP.
Honda’s China vehicle sales increased 11.7% last year, slowing from a 31% rise in 2007, Reuters noted.
