Honda to invest US$3bn in new Ohio factory as hybrid demand rises
The factory is expected to start production in 2029, adding capacity for 240,000 vehicles a year and creating more than 2,000 jobs.
- Honda is investing US$3 billion to build a new factory in Ohio, which is expected to create over 2,000 jobs.
- The investment is driven by rising US consumer demand for hybrid vehicles, influenced by factors like high fuel prices.
- Set to begin production in 2029, the plant will add an annual capacity of 240,000 vehicles, focusing primarily on hybrid SUVs.
- The factory will be built for flexibility, with the capability to produce hybrid, gasoline-powered, and battery electric vehicles to adapt to changing market demands.
More than 2,000 new jobs are expected from a new Ohio factory that Honda Motor Co. will build with an investment of about US$3 billion to meet growing US demand for hybrids.
The project, announced by the Japanese carmaker on Monday (9 November), will add capacity for 240,000 vehicles a year.
Honda’s annual North American capacity will consequently reach 1.91 million vehicles, compared with 1.67 million now.
The end of US tax credits for electric vehicles under President Donald Trump’s administration in autumn 2025 was followed by a sharp decline in demand for them.
High fuel prices, meanwhile, have helped increase demand for hybrids, prompting Honda to concentrate more on that market.
Addressing a press conference in Marysville, Ohio, Bob Nelson, executive vice president at American Honda Motor Co., Honda’s US unit, said the factory “will be one of Honda’s most advanced in the world” and “will be built for flexibility”.
The plant, he added, “will have the capability to produce hybrids, gasoline-powered, and battery electric vehicles, giving Honda the ability to adjust our production as customer demand and market conditions change”.
Expected to enter production in 2029, the factory will be located near Honda’s existing East Liberty plant and become its sixth vehicle assembly facility in the United States.
Most of its output is likely to consist of hybrid sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Honda also intends to introduce 15 new hybrid models worldwide by fiscal 2029.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
