The ageing Sayama plant will be shut down.
TOKYO: Honda said today it plans to stop production at one of its domestic plants within the next five years, cutting capacity by around 24 percent in Japan amid stagnant sales at home, as the automaker focuses on making electric cars and other new-technology vehicles.
Honda said it would stop production at its aging Sayama plant north of Tokyo, consolidating production at its nearby Yorii plant by around March 2022. Most workers currently at the Sayama plant would be transferred to the Yorii plant, it added.
The move would cut overall domestic annual production capacity to around 810,000 units from 1.06 million currently at Japan’s third-biggest automaker, reflecting current production levels. Global annual production would remain largely unchanged around 5.06 million units, the automaker said.
“Domestic sales haven’t increased as much as we were expecting and it has become difficult to boost exports,” chief executive Takahiro Hachigo said at a press conference.
The Yorii plant.
The Sayama plant was set up in 1964 and produces models including the Odyssey minivan, the Accord sedan and the CR-V SUV crossover model. It has an annual production capacity of 250,000 units.
The Yorii plant, which was built in 2013, is Honda’s newest domestic plant. It also has an annual production capacity of 250,000 units, and currently makes smaller models, including the Fit/Jazz compact hatchback, along with the Civic sedan.
Hachigo added that he was confident the automaker was following proper procedures for final vehicle inspection for the Japanese market.
He said that Honda was complying with a request from Japan’s transport ministry for inspection records after Nissan earlier this week said it would recall 1.2 million vehicles due to procedural irregularities with its final inspection processes.
