Honda Motor Co., the Japanese carmaker that builds most of the autos it sells in the U.S. at North American plants, is temporarily halting orders from U.S. dealers of Japan-built models after a suspension of production there following last week’s earthquake.

Honda informed U.S. Honda and Acura dealers, who typically order vehicles six weeks in advance, of the suspension yesterday in a memo, said Christina Ra and Gary Robinson, U.S. spokespeople for the Tokyo-based company. The order will affect models that would have been sold in May.

“While we plan to resume automobile production in Japan as quickly as possible, we cannot say with certainty when those production plants will return to their full capacity,” John Mendel, Honda’s U.S. executive vice president, told dealers in the memo.
 
(Bloomberg)