Honda, Toyota to cut production
The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in mid-March will affect some Japanese automakers in India.
Honda Cars India has reportedly stated that they would be temporarily reducing the production of vehicles at its Greater Noida facility from May. The plant has the capacity to roll out one lakh units per year. The company had, earlier, also postponed the launch of its Brio due to the earthquake and tsumani in Japan.
The company has said they would be cutting production by up to 50 per cent, which would result in a loss of earnings of around Rs 200 crore. They would be normalising production within the next three months. It is facing a critical shortage in automotive parts and electronics. This would mean around 2,500 fewer vehicles in a month being produced from their plants.
Meanwhile, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) recently announced its plans of making temporary production adjustments, keeping in mind the supply difficulties, following the events in Japan. Production will be suspended on Mondays and Fridays between April 25 and June 4.TKM will operate at approximately 30 per cent of its normal capacity during this period. There will be no impact on TKM’s service and spare parts supply operations. Customer services at the dealership will be conducted as usual. Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa, said, “It is important to note that this is a necessary response to a short-term supply issue and we intend to restore the normal operations as soon as possible. Our focus is on ensuring optimum stock management to reduce the impact on our customers from the immediate production shortfalls.” However, Nissan have said that their India operations would not really be affected. According to Nissan , since 85 per cent of the automotive parts of the Micra, were being manufactured locally and the rest 15 per cent were being imported from Thailand, it would not really affect the company’s production.
An official said that two of their plants had started functioning and the third was on its way to becoming operational. “But our India operations remain largely unaffected.” The official added, however, that the primary concern for the company was still the welfare of its employees affected by the disaster.
