As flu season comes to an end and allergy season starts to heat up, there may be concerns about symptoms that mimic the new coronavirus COVID-19. Wochit
Providing a glimpse of normalcy for an auto industry and world gripped by fear of the coronavirus, Honda Motor’s car assembly plant in Wuhan, China — the city at the epicenter of the global pandemic — resumed production Wednesday, the day President Donald Trump announced U.S. actions, including a ban on travel from Europe.
The assembly plant, which built 791,518 vehicles last year, shut down for the annual Chinese spring holiday Jan. 23. Scheduled to reopen Feb. 3, the plant was closed indefinitely when the Chinese government sealed off Hubei province to control the virus’ spread.
“This is important, good news,” said Eric Noble of consultant The Carlab in Orange, California. “Never underestimate the resiliency of the auto industry.”
Honda’s joint venture with local automaker Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co. Ltd. employs 12,000. With a population of 11 million, Wuhan is Hubei’s capitol and largest city.
More: Scale of coronavirus too big for GM to escape unscathed, experts warn
More: State of Michigan reports third positive coronavirus case
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan on Tuesday to reinforce the idea that the pandemic is under control, a position possibly undermined by the fact that Xi and his retinue wore masks.
Honda production “resumed with limited volume after a long suspension and may take time to recover to full” output, a spokesman said.
None of the plant’s production is sold in the United States. It builds vehicles including the CR-V, Civic, Inspire, VR-X, XR-V and Jade.
The plant’s five-week shutdown, and reopening while coronavirus remains at large in Wuhan, shows concrete evidence of how automakers and other industries can respond to the worst outbreak of coronavirus thus far.
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter.
Read or Share this story: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/mark-phelan/2020/03/13/auto-industry-coronavirus-covid-19-honda-restarts-production-wuhan/5038164002/