Honda to Temporarily Halt Car Production in Japan and China

KatadataOTO – Honda has announced it will temporarily halt operations at its factories in Japan and China. This step is planned to be taken from late December to early January due to a semiconductor shortage.

The company revealed that it will stop production at three car factories in China starting December 29, 2025, for five days. These production facilities are operated by a Honda joint venture with a Chinese car manufacturer.

Meanwhile, the production halt at the Japanese factories is planned for January 5 and 6. When production resumes on January 7, 2026, output will still be reduced for three days.

This announcement is unfortunate as the Japanese manufacturer also suspended its production in Mexico. The temporary halt was due to a similar reason, namely semiconductor supply disruptions in October and November.

Photo: Japan Times

According to Bloomberg, the chip shortage is caused by a geopolitical proxy war in the Netherlands. In October, the Dutch government was reportedly pressured by the United States to take control of Nexperia.

The company is a Chinese-owned chip manufacturer often used in cars, home appliances, and other technologies.

However, the Dutch government revealed the takeover was due to Nexperia having serious shortcomings in its governance system. They assessed that most of the company's owners are from China and could potentially move important technology out of Europe.

This situation led China to retaliate by blocking exports of Nexperia-made chips. The Netherlands eventually suspended its intervention after communicating with China.

China then eased its restrictions through an exemption to export controls. However, this unstable resolution has not been enough to help the supply chain fully recover.

Photo: Honda

According to NHK, this will cause vehicle production to decline and Honda's potential profit for the fiscal year ending March 2026 to be revised. The amount is estimated to reach 150 billion yen or Rp 16 trillion.

As of this writing, there is no information on whether Honda Prospect Motor as the brand holder (APM) in Indonesia will be affected by this situation.