Japan's second-largest automaker Honda Motor said Monday production had "partially resumed" at a parts factory in China where an unprecedented strike has forced the company to close other plants.
Honda's assembly lines in China came to a halt last week due to a lack of parts from Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co, located in the southern city of Foshan.
A Tokyo-based Honda spokeswoman said that despite a partial restart at the parts plant Monday, production at all four of its car assembly factories would remain frozen Tuesday as negotiations with striking workers continued.
"Parts production has partially restarted this afternoon, but auto assembly will not be restarting yet," said Honda spokeswoman Natsuno Asanuma, without giving further details. "We need more time."
She said Honda's Chinese joint ventures, Guangqi Honda Automobile and Dongfeng Honda Automobile, would stay closed Tuesday as negotiations continued at the transmission and engine components unit.
Production at Guangqi Honda Automobile Co., Honda's 50-50 joint venture with China's Guangzhou Automobile Group, stopped a week ago. The venture's two plants are in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.
Output at Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co, the company's other joint venture, located in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, came to a standstill Wednesday afternoon. The venture also operates two factories.
"Negotiations are still ongoing, we haven't reached a final point of conclusion and we have a lot to talk about," Asanuma said.
Earlier Honda's Beijing-based spokesman Zhu Linjie told AFP there had been "some progress" in talks, adding that he hoped production would resume "as soon as possible".
Chinese media have reported that Honda's workers are seeking higher wages, which currently average less than 1,500 yuan (220 dollars) per month.
Zhu said the carmaker had twice put forward improved compensation packages in the talks, without offering details.
Honda sold 576,223 vehicles in China last year, up 23 percent from the previous year. Its Chinese sales rose 31 percent in April from a year earlier to 55,113 units.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
