Honda Motor to Restart Wuhan Plant on Feb. 14, Reuters Reports

(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s Honda Motor Co. plans to resume car production at the plant it owns with DongFeng Automobile in Wuhan on Feb. 14, Reuters reported, citing a company statement on Sunday.

Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei, is the suspected epicenter of the outbreak of the coronavirus. On Jan. 30, Honda said it would halt operations in the factory until Feb. 13, as the government extended the annual Lunar New Year holiday break by several days to curb potential exposure.

Last week, IHS Markit said that if the coronavirus triggers a cascade of plant closings that lasts into mid March, it may reduce output in China by more than 1.7 million cars. That would be a decline of an additional 32% beyond a 10% drop that IHS had already predicted as the year began because of slumping demand.

To contact the reporter on this story: Giulia Camillo in New York at gcamillo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giulia Camillo at gcamillo@bloomberg.net, Kevin Miller, Matthew G. Miller

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