Guangzhou Honda cuts sales target due to storm

Shanghai, June 16 (Gasgoo.com) Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co said recently they will cut its 2008 sales targets by 20,000 units due to flooding from heavy rains, Jinghua Newspaper reported today.

The joint venture between Honda Motor Co and Dongfeng Motor Corp has lowered its sales target of 2008 to 340,000 units from the original 360,000 units, of which Odyssey sales will be reduced by 10,000 units, City be slashed by 6,000 units and Fit will be cut by 4,000 units.

Actually, Guangzhou Honda has suspended production at its two major car-making factories and an engine plant in the southern city of Guangzhou due to flooding from heavy rains that have hit the area since June 2.

Production at Dongfeng Honda, another Honda's joint venture in China located in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has also been suspended since last Wednesday because of inadequate parts supply. It builds the CR-V sport utility vehicles and Civic sedan.

Reuters cites Tatsuo Yoshida, an auto analyst at UBS Securities, as saying that the suspension was worrying since Honda did not know when its China production would return to normal and it would be unable to fully make up for the lost output by the end of the first fiscal quarter this month.