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View Full Version : Honda plans new plant in North America.


xcel
05-16-2006, 09:09 AM
Sixth plant in North America to help meet growing demand. (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060515/REUTERS/60515015/1003)

Reuters - May 15, 2006

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/New_Honda_Plant_Site.jpg

TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. plans to spend about $456 million (50 billion yen) to build a sixth plant in North America to help meet growing demand, the Nihon Keizai business daily reported on Tuesday.

The plant would have an initial capacity of about 150,000 vehicles a year, almost 10 percent of Honda's North American sales, and would go into production in 2009, the paper said.

The site of the new plant had not been decided, but it would likely be near an existing facility, it said.

Honda has two plants in Ohio, one in Alabama, one in the Canadian province of Ontario and one in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

A company spokesman declined to comment.

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui will hold a regularly scheduled mid-year news conference on Wednesday, May 17.

Japan's No.3 automaker sold about 1.66 million vehicles in North America in 2005.

The company currently has an annual output capacity in that region of 1.4 million units and it has been importing vehicles from Japan and other areas to fill the gap, the paper said.

The new plant will probably manufacture such models as the Civic and Fit subcompact, and the company may consider building a second line to double capacity to 300,000 units a year, it said.

Last month, Honda reported a more than doubling in fourth-quarter profit, helped by brisk overseas sales, a softer yen and accounting one-offs, and it said it planned a strong, product-led push again this year.

Honda expects its North American car sales to rise 4.6 percent to 1.76 million units in the business year that started in April, taking up almost half of projected global car sales of 3.72 million units, which would be up 9.7 percent year-on-year.

Chuck
05-16-2006, 09:42 AM
Outside CleanMPG, there has been discussion of American unions. Don't want them to go away, but they have been partners with Detroit in this bad dance that has loaded American automakers with retirement and health cost burdens so great that GM can only make a profit making trucks and SUVs. :( :mad:

I know that some will point out that the benefit package at Honda or Toyota is not like GM or Ford, but better non-union American labor than overseas labor.

phoebeisis
05-16-2006, 11:44 AM
Delta flyer-that issue is the "real reason" GM can't make "good small cars", and it is the real reason that GM is losing market share. If it costs you $1000 more in labor costs to build a vehicle, you can't sell as good a vehicle for the same $$.
The shame is there really isn't a "bad guy" to blame-no stupid manager, greedy union, and it sure as heck isn't because"japanese engineers and managers are better" etc.
GM has its plants in high wage union states. Toyota and Nissan built plants in low wage non union states.GM can't just close the plants and move them to non union states-their contracts probably don't allow it, and it costs huge amounts of $$$ to move plants.\
GMs plan-apparently-is to slowly whittle labor costs while closing plants and moving production out of the USA. They hope there will still be some USA GM production left when the Japanese USA plants slowly increase wages to whatever the level needs to be to reach parity.
Maybe in 10-20 years GM will start moving plants back to the USA to "new" low wage states?? Oh well,CHARLIE

Texashchman
05-17-2006, 08:38 AM
Please lets try not getting into this type of union or non union talk, as it could get ugly.kevin



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