Honda Cars India Ltd has announced its sales performance results for the month of May 2020. The Indian arm of the Japanese manufacturer reports that it has sold a handful of 375 units during the time period. In May 2020, Honda Cars has reported to have not exported any vehicles during the month. Last year in May 2019, Honda Cars already reported a decline in sales by 28%. At the time, the auto industry as a whole was already struggling, Honda sold 11,442 units in May last year, among which 450 units were exported. While the decline in sales is significant at 97%, the number is not entirely representative due to the unprecedented times credited to the coronavirus pandemic. After the relaxation of the lockdown, Honda Cars claims that it has also delivered 1,900 units to customers.
Like all automakers in India, Honda Cars was also forced to temporarily halt manufacturing in the last week of March 2020 when the lockdown was announced due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of April 2020, state governments began relaxing the lockdown to help companies restart manufacturing and Honda Cars had received the necessary permits to begin operations at one of its plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan. But the automaker struggled to restart manufacturing immediately, citing lack of manpower as the primary reason.
Due to the geographical location of the plant in Rajasthan being close to the border, a majority of its workforce resided beyond state lines and were unable to cross the border to come to work. Thus, delaying plans for production for Honda Cars. Additionally, the latest update on June 29, Honda had still not received permission to resume manufacturing at its plant in Greater Noida. Now with the latest guidelines for the lockdown having mostly relaxed all operations, it is possible Honda Cars would reopen its product in Greater Noida soon.
