Mazda slows down production cuts

Mazda Motor Corp. slowed down the pace of production cuts in Japan in April in light of progress it has made on inventory drawdown despite still-stagnant sales. At its plant in Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan, production resumed on Fridays, while work recommenced on two Fridays a month at its Ujina plant in Hiroshima Prefecture. In February, none of Mazda’s domestic plants operated on Fridays and they all remained closed throughout March. Work on Fridays resumed at the Hofu plant partly because the company’s mainstay Axela’s all-new model is selling well, company officials said. At the Ujina plant, work continued to be suspended on two of the four Fridays in April. Mazda’s monthly output came to 31,130 vehicles in January and then rose to around 40,000 units in February as the company trimmed the size of the production cut. (March 13, 2009)