Honda has set a record for vehicles produced in China despite the carmaker’s domestic production in Japan falling over the past 12 months.
In Japan, Honda produced 469,811 units in January-September 2020, down 24pc from the same period last year. Ex-Japan production for this period stood at 2.11 million cars, falling short by 27.5pc from the prior year. Globally, the automaker saw a 26.9pc decline in output during the first nine months of the year, at 2.58 million units compared with the same period last year.
In August, Honda’s Chinese operations produced 141,331 units, setting a record at 18pc higher than the same month last year. Meanwhile, in Japan production fell by 35.2pc in August compared with the prior year to 42,549 units, marking the twelfth consecutive month of subdued output in the country. However, production in the rest of the world, trended flat at 346,932 units, taking the global total to 389,481 units. Honda’s total global production fell short by 6.4pc compared to the prior year.
Japanese sales decreased by 33pc in Jan-Aug to 409,177 units, over the prior year. Meanwhile, in August, exports rose by 3pc to 7,225 units, marking the first positive change since March.
| Country | Aug-20 | Change (in pc) | Jan-Aug | Change (in pc) |
| Japan | 42,549 | -35.2 | 4,69,811 | -24 |
| China | 1,41,331 | -1 | 9,24,855 | -7.6 |
| North America | 1,55,335 | 18.5 | 8,76,810 | -30.8 |
| Global Total | 3,89,481 | -6.4 | 25,87,486 | -26.9 |