Honda Motor Co. announced Tuesday it will further slash auto production by some 50,000 units in Japan and North America by the end of March due to shrinking demand for vehicles worldwide amid global financial meltdown.

The logo of Honda Motor Co, Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, is pictured in front of the company headquarters in Tokyo Jan. 27, 2009. Honda announced further production cuts in North America and Japan, as the industry struggles with weak demand in a brutal economic downturn. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Accordingly, the Japan’s second largest automaker’s total output for fiscal 2008 is expected to contract by 12 percent to 1,147,000 units in Japan and by 14 percent to 1,264,000 units in North America.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet