Advanced Manufacturing Flexibility In North America

Honda is celebrating 30 years of manufacturing automobiles in North America, marked by the start of Accord production at the Marysville, Ohio auto plant on November 1, 1982. Going back to the start of motorcycle production in the U.S. in 1979, Honda has steadily grown the scope of its advanced, efficient and flexible and efficient manufacturing capacity in North American. Today, the company is making significant new investments to grow and advance its manufacturing capabilities in the region, including the establishment of the eighth North America auto plant, in Celaya, Mexico, the expansion of production in Alabama and Indiana, and the addition of new capabilities at its Ohio automobile, engine and transmission manufacturing facilities.

Overview

• Honda has 14 plants in North America and three new plants under construction with total capital investment of more than $21 billion.
• Honda has nine automobile assembly lines at seven plant sites in North American with an annual capacity of 1.62 million Honda and Acura automobiles (expanding to 1.87 million in 2014), more than any other region in Honda’s global manufacturing network.
• In 2011 more than 85% of the Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the U.S. were assembled by Honda's manufacturing plants in North America
• Eleven of 20 models sold in America are manufactured1 exclusively in North America: Honda Pilot, Odyssey, Ridgeline, Crosstour, Accord Coupe, Civic Coupe/Coupe Si, Civic Natural Gas, and the Acura TL, MDX, RDX and ZDX.
• The company also produces automobile engines, transmission, all-terrain vehicles, power equipment products and small displacement, general purpose engines in North America.
• Honda produced its 20-millionth automobile in North America in February 2009 and its 15-millionth automobile in the U.S. in May 2009.
• Honda works with more than 580 North American OEM parts and materials suppliers including more than 500 U.S. suppliers.
• Honda was the first Japanese automaker to build engines (1985) and transmissions (1989) in the U.S. and the first to export U.S.-built cars to overseas markets (Accord in 1988).

Recent production initiatives

• Honda has started construction on a new $800 million automobile plant in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico with an annual capacity of 200,000 units for the production of subcompact vehicles beginning with the Fit in 2014.
• Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) added a second shift of production at its plant in Greensburg, Indiana on Oct. 24, 2011, creating 1,000 new positions and doubling the plant’s capacity to 200,000 vehicles per year.
• In April 2012 HMIN began production of the all-new Acura ILX sedan, which includes a hybrid model, the first hybrid vehicle to be manufactured by a Honda plant in North America.
• Honda Manufacturing Alabama (HMA) is investing $275 million and creating 140 new full-time positions to further increase the flexibility of its vehicle and engine production operations in Lincoln, Alabama. HMA will increase production by 40,000 units (to 340,000/year) and will takeover production of the Acura MDX from Canada Plant 2 in 2013.
• Honda of Canada Mfg.’s Plant 2 began production of the all-new 2013 CR-V in January 2012.
• The Marysville Auto Plant reinstated second-shift production on Line 1 at the end of 2011, returning to full, two-shift production for the first time since January 2009.
• In North Carolina, Honda is constructing two new plants:
  • In Greensboro, adjacent to world headquarters of Honda Aircraft Company, Inc., for assembly of the advanced and efficient HondaJet very light jet.
  • In neighboring Burlington, adjacent to the headquarters of Honda Aero, Inc., for the manufacture of the HF-120 jet engine.
• Since November 2010 Honda has initiated investments totaling $500 million in its Ohio manufacturing operations to further advance its efficiency, flexibility and the capability to produce new Honda and Acura automobiles and powertrain technology (see table on following page for more detail).

Flexible production

• All of Honda's North American assembly lines are producing multiple vehicles. By designing flexibility into each line, Honda is able to balance consumer demand with production. Additional benefits include workforce stability and efficient use of resources.
• Flexibility begins with a highly trained and involved workforce that can quickly respond to customer demand in changing market conditions. In addition to producing a variety of models, Honda associates routinely move between assembly lines as needed to meet customer demand.
• Honda is developing an increasingly flexible supply chain in the North America region, where suppliers are globally competitive in their local communities.
• Honda is utilizing its flexible New Manufacturing System to further optimize the use of new and existing production capacity in North America.
  • Honda de Mexico shifted from production of Accord to CR-V in the fall of 2007,
  • Honda of America Mfg. added production of two CUVs in 2006: The East Liberty Auto Plant began producing the new Honda CR-V in September 2006 and the Marysville Auto Plant began producing the Acura RDX in July 2008.
  • Honda Canada Plant 2 added production of the Acura ZDX and Civic Sedan in the fall of 2009.
  • The East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP) ended production of Civic in February 2009, and in late 2009 added production of the Crosstour alongside CR-V. ELP began production of the 2013 RDX in March 2012.
  • Ridgeline production was moved from Canada Plant 2 to Alabama Line 1, making HMA the sole global source for Odyssey (N.A. model), Ridgeline and Pilot production. Alabama added production of Accord V6 Sedans and their engines in July 2009, and will take over production of the Acura MDX from Canada in early 2013.