Honda Automobile (Thailand) has said it will temporarily halt production at its Thai assembly plants from April 18 in response parts supply shortages in Japan.
The company operates two plants with a combined production capacity of 240,000 passenger vehicles. A spokesman said the company will monitor the situation closely “to determine when it can restart our production lines”, but could not be more specific.
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The current availability of parts only allows for a 50% production rate at most of Honda’s global operations, including in Japan, South-East Asia and in the UK.
All models produced in Thailand will be affected, including the Accord, Civic, City, Jazz and CR-V. Production and deliveries of the newly-launched Brio small car will also be affected.
The company has said it has around 110 suppliers located in the affected north-eastern region of Japan. It added that most have already restarted production, but there are some smaller companies that have so far been unable to restart operations.
Honda said it is working with these companies to help them fix the problems, while also looking for alternative suppliers.
Separately, Toyota said it will suspend production in Europe for “several days” in April and May due to parts shortages, while Ford also plans to halt production in Asia in the last week of April and into May.
Tony Pugliese
