GAC Honda dealership signboard in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, on June 28, 2025 Photo: VCG

Japanese carmaker Honda told the Global Times on Thursday that the temporary suspension of production at its China plants was affected by semiconductor supply. As a result, production at Honda's joint venture plant with GAC Group will be adjusted on December 30 and 31, while Dongfeng Honda plants will not be affected.

Meanwhile, Honda's factories in Japan will suspend production for two days starting January 5, 2026, and output from January 7 to 9 will also be lower than originally planned, the company said.

GAC Honda and Dongfeng Honda are both joint ventures established in China by Honda with local partners.

Earlier, Kyodo News reported that Honda plans to suspend or scale back vehicle production at plants in Japan and China from late December to early January due to a semiconductor shortage.

This comes after Honda suspended production at its Mexico plant in October and November, while factories in the US and Canada were also forced to cut output, after Chinese-owned semiconductor maker Nexperia was hit by export controls, according to Kyoko News. The company has not specified whether the current shortage involves Nexperia products, per the report.

Although Honda's North American plants, which previously faced similar disruptions, have resumed normal operations, the company's production system remains under strain, the report said.

The latest production adjustment came amid ongoing strains in the global automotive semiconductor supply chain, following the Dutch government's unilateral action targeting Nexperia that has rippled through upstream chip supply and affected automakers across multiple regions.

On September 30, the Dutch government cited so-called "national security concerns" when it froze China's Wingtech Technology's control over Nexperia for one year. 

The Dutch side's improper and forced intervention, including placing 99 percent of the shares of a wholly privately owned company under trusteeship, violated contractual principles and amounted to an impulsive and unwise move, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on November 14. 

This was the root cause of the turmoil and disruption now rippling through the global semiconductor supply chain, the spokesperson stressed.

Chinese and Dutch officials held two rounds of face-to-face consultations in Beijing on November 18 and 19 over the Nexperia issue. The Dutch side took the initiative to suspend the administrative order issued by the Dutch minister for economic affairs under the Goods Availability Act.  

"However, the erroneous ruling by the enterprise court, which stripped Wingtech of control over Nexperia under pressure from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, remains a key obstacle to resolving the issue," according to a MOFCOM statement. China hopes the Dutch side will continue to demonstrate genuine willingness to cooperate and put forward truly constructive solutions, the ministry said.