(Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. is considering a 30% reduction in production capacity in China, while Honda Motor Co. intends to cut 20%, the Nikkei reported. 

The Japanese carmakers are struggling in the face of increased local competition from manufacturers such as BYD Co. as electric vehicles take hold in China, the newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information. 

Honda’s output last year was around 1.2 million versus capacity of 1.49 million, so there is room to rationalize, a spokesperson for the carmaker said. A representative for Nissan wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Honda and Nissan sales in China have been falling for at least three years, while Toyota Motor Corp. has been mostly flat. The main issue has been the lack of attractive electric-car offerings from the trio. Japanese cars are mostly produced and sold through joint ventures with local partners. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. has partnerships with Toyota and Honda, while state-backed Dongfeng Motor Group Co. has ventures with Honda and Nissan. 

Read More: How China’s Carmakers Came to Dominate the EV Sector: QuickTake

Nissan may cut annual production capacity by as much as 500,000 from the current level of 1.6 million, the Nikkei reported. Honda is looking at reducing annual output to about 1.2 million, according to the newspaper. 

 

--With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima.

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