Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it will start producing motorcycles at a new plant in Kenya later this year amid expectations of growth in local demand.

Honda has set up Honda Motorcycle Kenya Ltd. for sales and production of motorcycles in Nairobi, becoming the company's third local subsidiary in Africa, following one each in South Africa and Nigeria. The new plant, with an initial production capacity of 25,000 units per year, will become operational in September, it said.

Combined with Honda's production base in Nigeria, the new factory in Kenya will bring the company's total annual motorcycle production capacity in Africa to 175,000 units.

Honda said it is looking to produce several entry-level models to be marketed in Kenya.

Mazda recall

Mazda Motor Corp. reported to the transport ministry Tuesday that it is recalling 8,902 of its latest model Atenza cars due to an electric-system fault that could cause fires.

Subject to the recall are Atenza models manufactured between last October and this month.