Honda Plans New North American Plant
05-16-2006, 05:37 AM
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Honda Plans New North American Plant
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Originally Posted by WSJ
By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
May 15, 2006 5:53 p.m.
DETROIT -- Honda Motor Co., running out of manufacturing capacity thanks in part to strong sales of the redesigned Civic car, has decided to build a new plant in North America, individuals familiar with the move said.
It wasn't clear immediately where the Japanese auto maker is adding new manufacturing capacity or what product it is building, but the individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity said Honda is especially short to capacity to produce passenger cars, such as the Civic.
One possibility, they said, is for Honda to build in North America a recently launched mini car called the Fit, whose demand the individuals said is likely to grow as consumers buy more fuel efficient vehicles in response to rising gasoline prices.
According to Honda, the Fit goes 38 miles a gallon of gas on the freeway. Currently Honda bring in from Japan all of Fits it sells in the U.S.
The individuals said Honda will likely announce plans for the new car plant later this week, when Honda President and Chief Executive Takeo Fukui is scheduled to hold a media conference in Tokyo.
May 15, 2006 5:53 p.m.
DETROIT -- Honda Motor Co., running out of manufacturing capacity thanks in part to strong sales of the redesigned Civic car, has decided to build a new plant in North America, individuals familiar with the move said.
It wasn't clear immediately where the Japanese auto maker is adding new manufacturing capacity or what product it is building, but the individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity said Honda is especially short to capacity to produce passenger cars, such as the Civic.
One possibility, they said, is for Honda to build in North America a recently launched mini car called the Fit, whose demand the individuals said is likely to grow as consumers buy more fuel efficient vehicles in response to rising gasoline prices.
According to Honda, the Fit goes 38 miles a gallon of gas on the freeway. Currently Honda bring in from Japan all of Fits it sells in the U.S.
The individuals said Honda will likely announce plans for the new car plant later this week, when Honda President and Chief Executive Takeo Fukui is scheduled to hold a media conference in Tokyo.
05-16-2006, 11:51 AM
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Honda, Nissan, and Toyota are all short on US production capacity, it seems.
The plants Nissan closed in Japan, well, those were all kinda old, but even more importantly, they needed to cut costs.
Honda won't open a plant unless they really need it.
The plants Nissan closed in Japan, well, those were all kinda old, but even more importantly, they needed to cut costs.
Honda won't open a plant unless they really need it.
05-16-2006, 08:57 PM
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Someone on another Honda enthusiast web site talked to a manager at Honda's assembly plant for the Odyssey (Lincoln, AL) and the manager admitted that Honda is seriously looking at expanding the Lincoln plant to produce passenger vehicles. This means that we could see the second-generation Honda Fit built at that plant, producing as many as 200,000 cars per year for the North American market. 
05-17-2006, 10:37 AM
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There are strong talks in the news in the state of Ohio that Honda is looking at building another plant here. That would add to Marysville and East Liberty. If that is the case, they said Ohio could rival Michigan as the largest auto producing state in the country.
I'm all for it. More tax revenue for the state. Not to mention, my next car would be produced in my home state.
Go Honda!
I'm all for it. More tax revenue for the state. Not to mention, my next car would be produced in my home state.
Go Honda!
05-22-2006, 07:42 PM
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if i were Honda i'd choose Ohio b/c of the current investment and the proximity to other plants...just keep them happy
Indiana has lots of other foreign mfgrs there that they are fine...plus the lowest price isn't always the best investment
Indiana has lots of other foreign mfgrs there that they are fine...plus the lowest price isn't always the best investment
05-23-2006, 07:59 AM
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Originally Posted by jaje
if i were Honda i'd choose Ohio b/c of the current investment and the proximity to other plants...just keep them happy
Indiana has lots of other foreign mfgrs there that they are fine...plus the lowest price isn't always the best investment
Indiana has lots of other foreign mfgrs there that they are fine...plus the lowest price isn't always the best investment
h: That would be really cool and would help the local economy in mid michigan tremendously but I know they'd never do it due to the unions here and the distance from their mid Ohio engine plants.
05-23-2006, 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted by 98CoupeV6
Depends on the incentive package they're offered by both states. Too bad they don't build in Michigan like Toyota is thinking about, that would help them sell a lot of cars. There's a giant parking lot (formerly Buick City) about 1/4 mile away from me they could use with like no tax on it. Too bad they'd have to employ old pissed off UAW workers h: That would be really cool and would help the local economy in mid michigan tremendously but I know they'd never do it due to the unions here and the distance from their mid Ohio engine plants.
h: That would be really cool and would help the local economy in mid michigan tremendously but I know they'd never do it due to the unions here and the distance from their mid Ohio engine plants.The Western side of the state would get any new plant investment
from the transplant firms. The eastern part of the state is going to have to pull itself up and/or attract more foreign suppliers.
05-23-2006, 05:48 PM
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Originally Posted by MellowGold
Yeah, Ohio needs something like that badly. It would be nice to have SOMETHING move into the state, instead of everything move out...
Well, Honda could buy the old Ford plant in Avon once they close it next year - wait, not a good idea. It would probably be cheaper for Honda to build their own new plant from scratch than to try an update a 40 year old existing plant.
On a side note, Ford asked the city of Lorain to lower the tax value on their Lorain assembly plant from 58 million to 25 million
05-23-2006, 06:36 PM
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last thing Honda would want to do is get spoiled (face it...the average worker makes $67/hour with all benefits - that's almost as much as a doctor or lawyer) pissed off UAW workers to unionize the plant