Since the establishment of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., in 1959 as Honda's first overseas subsidiary, Honda has invested more than $9 billion in sales, manufacturing and R&D operations in North America. Since the first motorcycle rolled off an assembly line in Ohio in 1979, Honda now has 17 major plants in the region, producing a range of products and components including Honda and Acura cars and light trucks; Honda motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercraft, lawn mowers; and engines and transmissions.
Nearly 80 percent of the cars and light trucks Honda sells in the U.S. were assembled in North America using domestic and globally sourced parts. Increasingly, many of these products are designed and developed by Honda's R&D operations in America as well as including the Honda Civic Coupe and Civic Si, Element, Pilot and Ridgeline - and the Acura TL and MDX.
Production
Honda will invest approximately $665 million and increase employment by more than 1,900 associates to expand North American automobile, engine and transmission production operations by 2008.
The expansion includes a new U.S. auto plant in Indiana (annual capacity of approximately 200,000 units), a new engine plant in Canada to produce 200,000 4-cylinder engines for Honda's existing auto plant in Canada, and expansion of component production at Honda's engine and transmission plants in Ohio and Georgia.
As a result of this expansion, Honda's automobile production capacity in North America will increase from 1.4 million to 1.6 million units in 2008, using domestic and globally sourced parts.
Honda purchased more than $16 billion in parts and materials from U.S. suppliers for the fiscal year ending March 2006.
Research & Development
For more than thirty years, Honda has steadily expanded the size and scope of its U.S. R&D operations to encompass the full range of research, design and development activities for Honda and Acura automobiles as well as Honda motorcycles and Honda power equipment products. As of 2006, the company operates thirteen R&D facilities in North America with more than 1,300 associates engaged in "complete product creation," creating new products for Honda and Acura from initial concept formulation, to styling design, and complete engineering development.
Honda's Automotive Safety Research Facility in Raymond, Ohio, features one of the world's most sophisticated high-resolution crash barriers and the world's first pitching crash test simulator.