Honda, Mazda to resume some parts, vehicle production

Honda Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp on Thursday became the latest major automakers to say they would resume some production in Japan after halting plant operations following a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

Honda said it plans to resume production of parts for overseas use on April 4 and production at all its car factories on April 11. Operations are scheduled to resume at about 50 per cent of its original plan.

Honda has not decided when it will resume full-scale operations, a company spokeswoman said. She also declined to specify which models the company will produce.

Mazda Motor Corp said it plans to restart limited production of vehicles from April 4 at its Hiroshima and Hofu plants. A decision on the resumption of full-scale production of both parts and vehicles has not been made.

A Mazda spokesman declined to say if the parts it is using are being produced by its suppliers or if they are coming out of suppliers' inventory. Mazda also declined to comment on which models it would begin producing, or how many.

The resumption of operations by Honda and Mazda follow rival automakers Suzuki Motor Corp and Fuji Heavy Industries Co, manufacturer of Subaru cars, which both restarted partial production earlier on Thursday.

Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co said earlier this week it would be some time before they could return to full production.