Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Ltd (HATC.PSX), citing the nation’s economic crisis, limitations on obtaining letters of credit for imports, and the suspension of international payments, stated on Thursday that its longest factory outage this fiscal year will be extended by 15 days.
On March 8, the business announced a temporary suspension that will last for 23 days and terminate on March 31. The closure was later extended until April 15. Honda claims that the company’s supply chain has been “severely disrupted” by the government’s strict measures to address Pakistan’s economic predicament.
According to a notice submitted to the Pakistan Stock Exchange by the company, a division of Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) of Japan, “as a result, the Company is not in a position to continue with its production and has ultimately continued to shut down its plant from April 16, 2023 to April 30, 2023.”
Due to Pakistan’s economic problems, which have seen the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves fall to a level barely able to cover a month’s imports, other listed automakers in the country, such as Indus Motor Company Limited (INDM.PSX) and Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PKSU.PSX), were also forced to halt production during the previous fiscal year.
Additionally, on Thursday, Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (PSMC), a division of Suzuki (7269.T) in Japan, announced a 13-day extension to a current suspension of its motorcycle production.
It declared an 11-day plant stoppage for its motorbike production on March 16 and cited a lack of inventory as the reason. Later, the closure was prolonged by 15 days, to April 15. For the same reasons, PSMC halted car production for one week from April 7 to April 23.
