(Yicai Global) Sept. 6 -- Japanese carmaker Honda Motor’s sales in China plunged 38.3 percent in August from the same period last year as the latest Covid-19 surge in the country forced one of its plants to halt production temporarily and the ongoing pandemic exacerbates the global chip shortage.

Honda sold 91,700 vehicles in the country last month, the firm’s China division said on Sept. 4. Its joint venture Guangqi Honda shifted 52,500 units while JV Dongfeng Honda Automobile delivered 39,200. The latter’s plant in Wuhan, central Hubei province has resumed normal operations, after being forced shut in early August due to a new wave of the novel coronavirus.

Sales from January to August, however, were up 9.9 percent year on year to 986,000 vehicles, the Tokyo-based company said. Of this, Guangqi Honda sold 479,100 units, while Dongfeng Honda shifted 507,300.

The global chip shortage has been compounded by the global spread of the pandemic. Malaysia, one of the world’s most important bases for the packaging and testing of semiconductors, has been severely affected by a new outbreak. As a result, several chipmakers’ plants in the Southeast Asian country, including Germany’s Infineon Technologies and Switzerland’s STMicroelectronics, have ceased production for the time being.

The company will keep a close eye on the global chip supply situation and made adjustments accordingly, a company executive told Yicai Global yesterday.

Robert Bosch, which supplies automotive parts and components, expects to run out of ESP/IPB, VCU and TCU chips this month, said David Xu, executive vice president of the German tech giant’s China division earlier.

Editors: Xu Wei, Kim Taylor