Honda to halve engine output capacity at key Chinese plant

GUANGZHOU — Honda Motor will halve the engine production capacity at a plant in China’s Guangdong province in the face of rapidly accelerating demand for electric vehicles in the world’s No. 2 economy, Nikkei has learned.

The move marks the first reduction in the Japanese company’s capacity to churn out combustion engines in China, impacting a capacity that accounts for the equivalent of roughly 30% of its gasoline engine-powered vehicle sales in the world’s largest auto market.