Japanese auto manufacturer Honda has said that North American production should return to normal in August—ahead of the original recovery plan—for all models except the new Honda Civic.
North American production was cut by half last month because of parts shortages from Japanese manufacturers whose production had been interrupted by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
As the supply of parts from Japan improves, production will ramp up in August on a step-by-step, plant-by-plant, and model-by-model basis, with production returning to 100 percent of the original plan.
The company said production of the 2012 Civic will continue at a reduced rate of approximately 50 percent due to the limited supply of key components. However, this situation continues to be evaluated and full production is expected to resume sometime in the fall.
"The light at the end of the tunnel is glowing brighter for us, represented by this significant improvement in our production situation," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Throughout this crisis, Honda has been fighting to achieve a speedy recovery, while maintaining a focus on our longer-term plans for continued growth in sales and production in order to meet the growing needs of our customers."
Mendel added that he was proud that Honda had managed the unprecedented parts supply issues without resorting to layoffs at any of its 14 production plants in North America.
