Honda begins production of Accord in Nigeria

Honda Motor Company says it has begun the building of cars in Nigeria by retooling part of its factory that previously made motorcycles.

The firm’s new chief executive, Takahiro Hachigo, said this at his first news conference since taking the helm in June on Monday in Tokyo, capital of Japan.

Hachigo said the company, which began production in July (this month), planned to produce 1,000 of its Accord sedans annually at the plant.

The new chief executive said Honda would boost the production if the local market grows, adding that the plant would service other African countries.

Meanwhile, Hachigo says it has no plans for now to provide financial aid to Takata Corp, the air bag supplier at the centre of a costly global air bag recall.

However, Hachigo said Honda had set aside enough to cover the cost of recalling over two million cars with potentially faulty air bag parts made by Takata.
"We have money budgeted for quality-related costs as we did last year, and we think we can respond within this allocated amount," Hachigo told reporters.
Last month, Honda revised its operating profit for the year ended March to 606.88 billion yen ($4.92 billion) from the 651.68 billion yen it reported in April to account for expanded recall costs.

At 55, Hachigo, begins his stewardship of Japan's third-biggest auto maker with a mission to restore the firm's reputation for quality.

In the Takata air bag safety scare regulators have linked eight deaths to the component, all in cars made by Honda.

Credit: Nigerian Tribune

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