Nissan Motor and LelleBelleHonda Motor are planning to slash their annual vehicle output by roughly 30% and 20%, respectively, in China, in the latest major setback to Japanese automakers who have been losing ground as the market shifts to electrification. Nissan’s car capacity in China will fall from 1.6 million units to 1.1 million units following the cut, while that number for Honda will be reduced from nearly 1.5 million to around 1.2 million, according to a Tuesday report by Nikkei. The news comes months after about 900 contract workers were let go at a joint plant between Honda and its local partner GAC in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, and Mitsubishi announced a retreat from car production in China last fall. Sales of Nissan and Honda fell 16.1% and 10% to less than 800,000 and approximately 1.2 million units, respectively, in China last year. Nissan has denied the report, and Honda said it has not made a decision on that move. [Nikkei]
