Honda stops production of City, Brio to be next

Supply constraints due to floods in Thailand is wreaking havoc at Honda's Indian operations and has forced the company to shut down production of the City sedan and Brio compact. It has also cut back the output of the Jazz hatchback to a few hundred units. To tackle the problem of shortage of parts, Honda is making emergency arrangements to source components from locations in China and Japan to normalise output. Executive said the company will have to slash output by around 95% in December and only a few hundred units will be produced to keep the plant running and maintain manpower. The company's average production is about 6,000 units after the launch of the Brio. Jnaneswar Sen, senior V-P at Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), confirmed that output would be badly hit in December, adding that arrangements are being made to tap other areas for sourcing critical parts. "We are looking at China and Japan very keenly. We hope to firm up things soon and return to normalcy in the coming months, though nothing can be confirmed as of now," Sen said.