Due to ongoing logistical and supply chain issues, Honda Motor Co. announced on Thursday that it would cut its production plans by up to 40% in Japan at the beginning of September.

Even Japanese automakers have been cautiously optimistic about the news that the chip shortage that led to repeated production reductions is subsiding.

Early in the following month, its assembly plant in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, will reduce production by about 40 per cent.

Beginning in early September, two lines at its Suzuka plant in western Japan will cut production goals by about 30%.

Honda attributed logistics and part delivery delays to COVID-19 and semiconductor shortages. A wide range of vehicles, including the Vezel sport utility vehicle, the Stepwgn minivan, and the Civic compact car, would be impacted.

The automaker announced that for the remainder of the month, the Saitama plant and the Suzuka plant would each reduce production by about 10% and 30%, respectively.

Honda changed its production schedule in May, but had promised to resume normal operations in early June.

Toyota Motor Corp., a competitor of Honda, maintained its production target of 9.7 million vehicles globally for the current fiscal year ending in March 2023 and stated that production and sales outlook would improve from August onward.

This month, Toyota stated that it anticipated producing about 850,000 vehicles globally in September and that it planned to increase production through November, subject to the availability of personnel and parts.

(Adapted from BusinessToday.in)