Honda will build a new car manufacturing plant in Wuhan, China, with operations target to begin in the spring of 2019, Nikkei Asian Review reported on Tuesday.

Japan's third-biggest car maker by sales will invest "hundreds of millions of dollars" for the facility that aims to initially produce 120,000 units per annum, with targets of eventually doubling the number to 240,000, Reuters reported citing Nikkei. Honda said last year it would delay construction of a planned $822 million factory in Wuhan as the demand declined, Bloomberg noted.

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The Tokyo-based firm's annual capacity in China, excluding those dedicated for exports, will see eventually a slight increase from the current 1.08 million to 1.3 million units.

Chinese authorities are reportedly in the final stages of screening the newly proposed plant. And its local joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor Group, which will also operate in the plant, will begin construction once it receives a green light from the government.

A spokesperson from Honda in Tokyo said the company was checking the report but refused to give further comment.  

Honda already has three car assembly plants in Guangzhou and two in Wuhan, all of these are joint ventures.

Consumers' demand for Honda's XR-V and Vezel SUVs have paced a 26 percent gain in the company's China sales this year through September, Bloomberg noted.

Car sales in the world's most populous country started to recover in the fourth quarter after China introduced its tax cut in Oct. 2015 on purchases for vehicles with engines of up to 1.6 liters. The tax break, which effectively lops $1,000 from the price, is scheduled to end this year.

Sales of passenger-vehicle sales also soared 15 percent to 16.75 million between January and September this year. Honda's flagship models for China this year include a revamped Civic compact and a brand new Avancier and Acura CDX SUVs. It will also begin producing hybrid engines for its Accord sedans locally.

TagsHonda, car factory, Honda China, Wuhan, Honda Wuhan factory, Honda XR-V, Honda Vezel SUV