COVID-19 impact: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India to temporarily shut production plants from May 1

NEW DELHI: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) on Thursday said it will temporarily shut its four manufacturing plants across the country for 15 days with effect from May 1, in view of the severe situation on account of COVID-19 second wave and subsequent multiple lockdowns across various cities.

The two-wheeler major said it will utilise the production halt from May 1 to May 15, for its annual plant maintenance activities.

"Depending upon the evolving COVID situation and the market recovery, the company shall be reviewing its production plan in the subsequent months," HMSI said in a statement.

During the period, all Honda office associates will continue to work-from-home to maintain business continuity while extending all possible support to customers and business partners, it added.

Only the essential staff will be working at all company plants and various offices across the country, the two-wheeler maker noted.

HMSI has production facilities at Manesar in Haryana, Tapukara in Rajasthan, Narsapura in Karnataka and Vithalapur in Gujarat, with a total installed manufacturing capacity of 64 lakh units per annum.

On Wednesday, Maruti Suzuki India advanced its maintenance shutdown at its two Haryana-based manufacturing plants by a month amid a surge in the COVID-19 cases across the country.

Besides, MG Motor India has also announced to shut its manufacturing unit at Halol in Gujarat for seven days to curb the spread of COVID-19.

It followed two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp, which had last week announced temporarily stopping of operations at all of its six manufacturing facilities located at Dharuhera and Gurugram, Haryana; Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh; Haridwar in Uttarakhand; Neemrana in Rajasthan, and Halol in Gujarat along with its Global Parts Center (GPC) at Neemrana as COVID-19 cases surged in India.

Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has also announced that its two plants at Bidadi in Karnataka will undergo annual maintenance from April 26 to May 14.

On Thursday morning, India reported 3.79 lakh new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, its sharpest spike since the pandemic first gripped the country last year.

With this the total number of cases has risen to 1.8 crore.