Honda Motor Co. is set to add production capacity in the south China city of Guangzhou after bucking the downturn in the country’s new-vehicle market last year.
The Japanese automaker this year will double annual capacity to 240,000 vehicles at one of three plants run by its joint venture with GAC Motor Co. in Guangzhou, according to information its China office disclosed on its website.
The office didn’t reveal when the expansion will be completed.
Once completed, the expansion will raise the partnership’s annual production capacity in China to 720,000 from 600,000.
It will also expand Honda’s total annual capacity in China to 1.37 million from 1.25 million. The company also runs three factories with Dongfeng Motor Group in the central China city of Wuhan with annual capacity of 650,000 vehicles.
Wuhan is the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic and Honda has extended shutdowns at the three plants run by its joint venture with Dongfeng until Feb. 13, Reuters reported this week.
In 2019, Honda’s China new-vehicle sales rose 8.4 percent to top 1.55 million.
Last year, deliveries at Honda’s joint venture with GAC increased 4.1 percent to nearly 766,000 while sales at its partnership with Dongfeng jumped 13 percent to approach 789,000.
