Honda's automobile unit resumes operations in Thailand

Honda Automobile Thailand (HATC) has resumed production at its plant in Ayutthaya after severe floods halted operations in early October.

HATC, a subsidiary of Honda Motor, is the last of the Japanese automobile companies to resume production in Thailand after the floods.

Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor resumed production at the end of 2011.

The floods forced hundreds of Japanese companies to shut operations, adversely affecting their earnings expectations.

Earlier this year, Honda revised down its operating income forecast for the year ending on 31 March to 200bn yen ($2.4bn, £1.5bn) from a previous forecast of 270bn yen.

The Honda factory in Ayutthaya has the capacity to produce 240,000 units annually. Limited production

A Honda Motor spokeswoman said full production would resume at the HATC unit by the second week of April.

Currently production is at about 12% of capacity.

HATC was the only car maker whose factory was completely flooded.

Honda Motor said HATC is one of its most important production centres in the Asia and Oceania regions.

"Honda was totally committed to realising the earliest possible recovery. Honda will maintain the same positioning of HATC in the future and further promote business operations in Thailand," the company said.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17508462

Despite Thai floods, Honda tells dealers 2012 CR-V will launch on time

Automotive News reports that the 2012 Honda CR-V will, in fact, launch on schedule. Honda has reportedly told its dealers that the crossover will arrive on time despite initial concerns about the impact of Thai floods on the vehicle's production. Honda had originally cautioned that the vehicle may be delayed by several weeks due to a shortage of components produced in Thailand. That crisis has apparently been avoided.

The 2012 Civic wasn't so fortunate. Weather delays related to the tsunami and flood disasters in Japan resulted in a production shortage for the new compact that hampered the model's launch.

Even with the CR-V arriving on dealer lots as scheduled, Honda is still cutting back production to cope with component shortages. In a separate report, Automotive News says that the company is temporarily adjusting manufacturing at its six plants in the United States and Canada as a result of flooding in Thailand. Some of the facilities will operate at above the 50 percent capacity Honda originally forecasted when it became clear that the company's suppliers would be impacted by the weather. The slow-down is expected to stretch until November 25 in Canada and November 23 in the States.

Source;
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/09/despite-thai-floods-honda-tells-dealers-2012-cr-v-will-launch-o/