Chip shortage lingers as Honda to halt output in Japan, China

HONDA Motor will halt production at plants in Japan and China in coming weeks, highlighting the lingering fallout of the global chip shortage.

The Japanese carmaker will suspend output in Japan on Jan 5 and Jan 6, a spokesperson said Thursday, without specifying which plants will be affected. All three of the facilities in its joint venture in China, Guangqi Honda Automobile, will be offline from Dec 29 to Jan 2.

The company had said it anticipated getting disrupted production back on track from late November, but the looming suspension of some of its factories indicates ongoing snarls in the supply chain.

Honda shares declined 1.5 per cent in Tokyo. Japanese media outlets reported the news earlier.

Carmakers around the world have had their production plans thrown into disarray in recent months after China blocked Nexperia BV - owned by Chinese company Wingtech Technology - from exporting products made at its local plants.

Honda has been hit hard, with the chip shortage prompting it to reduce its sales forecast to to 3.34 million units from 3.62 million. It had previously curbed or suspended output at some plants in North American due the issue.

Nexperia makes semiconductors used in vehicle control systems for functions such as activating windshield wipers and opening a window. BLOOMBERG

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