Chubu Electric, Honda Motor, Tata Metaliks: Asia Stocks Preview

Hmmm, good idea....

Below is a excerpt pertaining to Honda only....

Honda Motor Co. (7267 JT): The carmaker may build a plant at a location high above sea level in Thailand as part of flooding countermeasures, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, citing the company. The stock fell 0.6 percent to 3,160 yen.

Source;
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-26/chubu-electric-honda-motor-tata-metaliks-asia-stocks-preview

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

Honda may spend $650 mln to restore flood-hit Thai plant - Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co <7267.T> will completely overhaul its flood-hit factory in Thailand in a project that could cost more than 50 billion yen, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.

Thailand's worst floods in half a century late last year hit Honda the hardest among Japanese automakers, with its 240,000-cars-a-year plant in the Ayutthaya Province in central Thailand submerged under water.

Honda, Japan's No. 3 car producer, has already started replacing equipment with the aim of resuming output in April, the Nikkei said.

Refurbishing the flood-hit factory will almost be the equivalent of building a plant from scratch, the Nikkei quoted an unnamed Honda executive as saying.

Honda may receive payment from insurers, which are still assessing damage at the factory, as early as in the current financial year to March, lessening Honda's financial burden to a certain extent, the Nikkei said.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Source;
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/honda-may-spend-36650-mln-to-restore-flood-hit-thai-plant-nikkei_651354.html

Honda begins scrapping over 1000 cars damaged from Thailand floods

Vehicles are seen after floodwaters receded at the Honda factory in Ayutthaya province on Nov. 26. Thailand's worst floods in 50 years have killed 610 people and devastated industry, but the situation is slowly improving, with water receding in many affected areas.

A Honda worker lifts a flood damaged car at the Honda factory in Ayutthaya province on December 27, 2011. Japanese car assembler Honda automobile (Thailand) started to scrap 1,055 cars which were damaged by the recent floods in Thailand, ensuring that damaged parts would not be sold, the company said in statement.

A flood damaged Honda car is destroyed at the Honda factory in Ayutthaya province on Dec 27. Japanese car assembler Honda automobile (Thailand) started to scrap 1,055 cars which were damaged by the recent floods in Thailand, ensuring that damaged parts would not be sold, the company said in statement.

Workers walk amidst Honda cars that were damaged by the flood before the destruction demonstration at Honda automobile plant in Ayutthaya province, central Thailand on Dec. 27. The 1,055 unit of Honda cars, mostly Brio eco-cars and City subcompacts, were destroyed in an action to assure to customers that the flood-damaged cars will not be repaired and sold.
Natalia Jimenez writes

In an effort to prove that no flood damaged vehicles will not be sold to customers, the Honda factory in Thailand's Ayutthaya province began destroying over 1,000 cars. The factory was one of the hardest hit by the several months of record flooding, which only receded a few weeks ago. The devastating floods were the worst the country experienced in 50 years and left over 700 people dead. According to AFP, the scrapping process is expected to take one month.

Honda's production was disrupted from the floods and only recently returned to normal. According to AP, American Honda Executive Vice President John Mendel says it will not be until March that dealers will be fully restocked.

Aerial images of the submerged cars in the Honda lot provided powerful visuals of the effects of the severe flooding on businesses. (One of the images made it into our selection of the Year in Pictures: 2011.) The area is home to large production centers for global car and computer industries. According to Bloomberg, Toyota had to suspend local production of its Camry and Prius lines, and Apple faced delays in parts used for Mac computers. Western Digital shares hit a year low in October and is now working to regain their losses, according to Reuters.

See more images of the severe flooding in Thailand on PhotoBlog.

Source;
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/27/9737801-honda-begins-scrapping-over-1000-cars-damaged-from-thailand-floods

Honda CR-V line in Ohio starts Tuesday despite Thai floods

Production of the new all-new 2012 Honda CR-V starts Tuesday in East Liberty, Ohio, despite flooding in Thailand that is causing trouble for suppliers. The new 2012 model will be in showrooms in December.

These new pictures of Honda vehicles damaged by the floods underscore its severity. Hundreds of new vehicles awaiting shipment were swamped. While finished vehicles are not the issue for the Thailand plant, the floods have caused havoc when it comes to parts, mostly when it comes to electronics.

Earlier this month, Honda said:
Due to continued flooding in Thailand, a number of Honda suppliers have been unable to maintain the supply of parts to Honda. As a result, Honda will continue managing the parts supply in North America by taking the following actions:
•Honda will continue temporary production adjustments at all six Honda auto plants in the U.S. and Canada.
•Auto production rates will vary from plant to plant, but some plants will produce at rates above the previously announced 50 percent of the original plan through Nov. 30.
•All plants in the U.S. and Canada are expected to produce at normal levels on Dec. 1 and 2. Production plans after Dec. 2 will be announced in the future.

Source;
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/11/honda-cr-v-line-in-ohio-starts-tuesday-despite-thai-floods/1

Gallery: Flooded Honda factory, Thailand

Honda factory in Ayutthaya, Thailand. While the city of Ayutthaya is recovering from the floods the factories are still underwater for at least a month.

A Honda factory is seen in an aerial view in flood affected Thailand on Nov. 14, 2011. Over seven major industrial parks in Bangkok and thousands of factories have been closed. The flooding now in its third month is Thailand’s worst flooding in over 50 years.

Source;
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Gallery+Flooded+Honda+factory+Thailand/5712579/story.html

Update #2: Impact of Thailand Flooding on Honda’s Automobile Operations in North America.

11/14/2011

CR-V to Begin Mass Production in Ohio

The all-new 2012 Honda CR-V will begin mass production in the U.S. on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at the East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio. As announced last week, CR-V will go on sale as scheduled in mid-December, despite ongoing production adjustments at Honda’s U.S. and Canadian plants brought about by the persistent flooding in Thailand.

Production Adjustments Continue

Due to continued flooding in Thailand, a number of Honda suppliers have been unable to maintain the supply of parts to Honda. As a result, Honda will continue managing the parts supply in North America by taking the following actions:

• Honda will continue temporary production adjustments at all six Honda auto plants in the U.S. and Canada.
• Auto production rates will vary from plant to plant, but some plants will produce at rates above the previously announced 50 percent of the original plan through Nov. 30.
• All plants in the U.S. and Canada are expected to produce at normal levels on Dec. 1 and 2. Production plans after Dec. 2 will be announced in the future.

In 2010, 87 percent of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America. While most of parts and materials used to produce these products are purchased from North American suppliers, a few critical electronic parts are sourced from Thailand and other regions of the world. Honda is working closely with its suppliers in Thailand and throughout its global network to reestablish the flow of parts for the products made in North America.

Honda remains focused on minimizing the impact to its associates and their families and plans no layoffs at any of its North American facilities. Non-production days will continue to be treated as "no pay, no penalty," meaning Honda associates can report to work, use a vacation day, or take the day off without compensation or penalty.

Honda deeply regrets any inconvenience this may cause to its customers.

Source;
Honda North America

Honda to cuts U.S. output after supply disruptions from Thailand, 2012 CR-V to be delayed

Honda announced today that it will reduce its output in the United States over the next few weeks because of fresh supply shortages caused by flooding in Thailand.

“As the flooding in Thailand continues, a number of Honda suppliers in Asia currently are unable to maintain parts production, which is disrupting the flow of parts to our production operations in North America,” Honda said in a statement. “To better manage the available parts supply in North America and globally, effective November 2, Honda will take the following actions:

-Honda will temporarily adjust automobile production at all six Honda auto plants in the U.S. and Canada. Currently, it is anticipated that this situation will require adjustments for the next several weeks.

-Auto production will be at approximately 50% of the original plan through Nov. 10. Subsequent adjustments will be announced as they are determined based on the parts supply situation.

-All Saturday overtime work will be canceled through November.

-A non-production day is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 11.

-The December on-sale date of the all-new 2012 Honda CR-V could potentially be delayed by several weeks (the thing we’re most concerned about). The on-sale date will be announced in the near future.

Source;
http://www.egmcartech.com/2011/10/31/honda-to-cuts-u-s-output-after-supply-disruptions-from-thailand-2012-cr-v-to-be-delayed/

Facelifted Honda City to arrive in mid November?

Not for us in North America, think of this as a Honda FIT Sedan.....While we know that the facelifted Honda City will be here in the next couple of months, our friends at OnCars seem to have gotten wind of when the Honda City could actually be launched. According to them, Mid November is when Honda will unveil the facelifted version of the Honda City Sedan. The facelift of the Honda City is essentially a mid career makeover of the Honda City and thus is largely cosmetic in nature.

Both the front and rear ends of the Honda City get minor changes in the facelift. The facelifted City has already been launched in the Thai market. Hence, it is quite easy to gauge what we will be getting here in India as Honda usually launches its products in the Thai market before an Indian launch. On the front end, brand new bumpers, a new front air dam, a revised grille design with chrome tipping is what you get.

The rear end gets new tail lamps and reflectors on the rear bumper. The car also could get an Eco mode indicator on the instrumentation console that will help willing drivers to squeeze out that extra bit of mileage from the City. Automatic climate control could be one feature that could still be in the missing list on the facelifted Honda City as the Thai model doesn’t seem to have one.

Under the hood, the same 1.5 Liter 118 Bhp, i-VTEC petrol engine will do duty along with the five speed manual and automatic transmission options. Given that Honda doesn’t have a diesel engine in its portfolio, expect the facelifted version of the Honda City to be priced similar to the current version as the facelift does not add any functional feature worth a price increase. Meanwhile, the current versions of the Honda City are trading for big dealer discounts this festive season.

Source;
http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/facelifted-honda-city-arrive-mid-november-50618/