Honda's Thai division resumed accepting new orders for the Brio ecocar on June 13th, after its parent company in Japan assured it of parts supplies.

The Japanese carmaker had stopped taking orders in late April after a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan crippled the parts supply, prompting it to suspend Brio production, as it was uncertain whether it could meet orders placed after the launch.

The ecocar made its world debut in Bangkok in March, six days after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and attracted more than 5,000 bookings in just one month.

The Brio can now be viewed and test-driven at all showrooms, and dealers are taking new bookings. Deliveries began this month for the first 5,000 orders, 75% of which were for the top-end model (priced at THB 508,500 or US$ 16,800), while the remainder were for two lower-priced models (THB 399,900 and THB 469,500), said a spokesman at Honda Automobile Thailand.

Honda expects to fill all 5,000 orders within September, he said.

"All our dealers nationwide have been informed that our parts supply from Japan for the Brio is now resuming to normal. This is indeed welcoming news because with the supply now stabilising, we can now plan ahead and ramp up production for the Brio," said president Atsushi Fujimoto. "I wish to express my sincere apologies to all our customers who have waited so long and patiently ... and to thank them for their loyal support towards Honda at a time when the company was confronted with various challenges in the aftermath of the disaster."

Honda announced late last month that it would ramp up production at its Ayutthaya plant to 80% in July and would resume normal production from September onwards.