Honda China Responds to Chip-Shortage Factory Pause: Two-Day Shutdown Won’t Affect Customer Deliveries

Fast Technology reported on December 18 that Honda has recently told media outlets it plans to pause or scale back vehicle production at several plants in Japan and China from late December through early January, citing a shortage of semiconductor chips.

Under the plan, Honda’s joint-venture plant with GAC in China will suspend production for five days starting December 29. In Japan, Honda factories are scheduled to stop production for two days on January 5 and 6, with output from January 7 to 9 also expected to come in below the original target.

In response, Honda China and GAC Honda said that due to the impact of semiconductor supply constraints, GAC Honda will not arrange production on December 30–31. They emphasized that this two-day adjustment will not affect customer deliveries.

Honda China also noted that Dongfeng Honda’s plant is not currently affected. As for whether the chip shortage could have a prolonged impact, Honda China said the situation remains fluid and the company will adjust supply arrangements to the greatest extent possible to minimize disruption.

The report adds that since late September—after the Dutch government imposed an operational freeze on Nexperia—its Netherlands headquarters has taken unilateral measures affecting Nexperia China, including halting wafer supplies. This has contributed to a structural shortage of automotive-grade chips globally, leading multiple automakers in several countries to reduce output or pause production.

Among those impacted, Honda is described as facing particularly significant disruption, with knock-on effects also felt across related automotive supply chains, including Nissan and Bosch.

In the automotive discrete semiconductor segment, Nexperia is said to hold roughly 40% global market share. These components are widely used in critical systems such as electric power steering and power control units, and they fit a broad range of vehicle platforms worldwide—one reason why supply interruptions can quickly ripple across the global auto industry.