Vehicle makers slash output to adjust to economic slowdown

In a bid to adjust inventories and respond to falling global demand for vehicles, Japanese vehicle manufacturers Yamaha Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co., as well as South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said they would idle some of their production lines. Yamaha said that it would cut its 2009 Japanese motorcycle output by 24% to some 260,000 units, as sales of domestically made vehicles are being challenged by brisk sales of imported motorcycles. Yamaha suspended operations at six domestic plants, including its main assembly plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, for a total of 10 days in February and March to cut production by 13,000 units. Honda is suspending production for a few days at its plants including one in Swindon, U.K. during April and May in addition to stoppages announced for February and March. Hyundai, meanwhile, has closed a sport-utility vehicle factory in Ulsan, about 400 kilometers (km) south of Seoul, for nine days in February and March. It also halted production at its Grandeur and Sonata sedan factory in Asan, 85 km southwest of Seoul, for four days in March. (February 23/25/26, 2009)