Honda Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp on Thursday became the latest major automakers to say they would resume some production in Japan after halting plant operations following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11.
Honda said it would resume production of parts for overseas use on Monday and production at all its car factories on April 11. Operations are scheduled to resume at about 50 percent of its original plants.
Honda also said production cuts at its plants in the US and Canada would last through April 15. The company warned that output could still be disrupted after that date because of the “uncertainty” around the supply of parts from Japan.
Honda has not decided when it will resume full-scale operations, a company spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman also declined to specify which models the company would produce.
Mazda Motor Corp said it plans to restart limited production of vehicles from Monday at its Hiroshima and Hofu plants. A decision on the resumption of full-scale production of both parts and vehicles has not been made.
A Mazda spokesman declined to say if the parts it is using are being produced by its suppliers or if they are coming out of suppliers’ inventory. Mazda also declined to comment on which models it would begin producing, or how many.
In resuming operations, Honda and Mazda follow rival automakers Suzuki Motor Corp and Fuji Heavy Industries Co, the manufacturer of Subaru cars, which both restarted partial production earlier on Thursday.
Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co said earlier this week it would be some time before they could return to full production.
Meanwhile, car sales in Japan plunged nearly 40 percent last month following the March 11 disaster, an industry group said yesterday.
Automakers sold 279,389 cars in Japan last month, down 37 percent — the biggest ever year-on-year drop for March, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.
The plunge in sales was because of weak consumer sentiment following the March 11 quake and tsunami and the ensuing radiation leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
“People are simply reluctant to buy cars at this time. The tsunami and the ongoing nuclear disaster have depressed consumer sentiment,” association spokesman Masashi Miyajima said.
Miyajima said many people in quake-hit areas were also canceling car purchases.
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