LexFather

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.

GS69

Honda to Build New Plant in the US


By HANS GREIMEL, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 22 minutes ago

TOKYO - Profit-rich Honda Motor Co. announced plans Wednesday to build a new plant in the United States — its sixth in North America — part of a sweeping $1.18 billion expansion plan to meet soaring demand for its cars.

Japan's No. 3 automaker also plans to erect a new assembly factory in Japan and an engine plant in Canada. The three plants are aimed at meeting an ambitious 34 percent increase in annual sales to 4.5 million vehicles a year by 2010, Honda President and Chief Executive Officer Takeo Fukui said.

"We have been looking at changes in demand and decided to expand our capacity," Fukui said at a Tokyo news conference. "Competition on a global scale is expected to intensify."

He did not specify the location of the new U.S. plant, although Ohio and Indiana have expressed interest in hosting it, but said the $400 million plant would employ 1,500 workers and produce about 200,000 vehicles a year when it was completed in 2008.

Fukui said the company was in the final stages of selecting a location for the new plant, but the company did not give a timeline for making a decision. Honda, maker of the Civic and Accord, already has two plants in Ohio, a factory in Alabama, and a plant each in Canada and Mexico.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday — after a Japanese newspaper reported Honda was keen to build another plant in North America — that state officials have been working to lure the automaker to sites in Decatur and Ripley counties, in the southeastern part of the state.

"It is an enormously promising opportunity, and we're going to do all we can, and I am very hopeful, but it is still a multistate competition, and I have nothing further to say about it today," Daniels said.

Indiana officials said they had private meetings scheduled for Wednesday with Honda attorneys.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Bruce Johnson said his state was also being considered for the new plant, but would not identify the potential sites in Ohio, where Honda already employs about 16,000 workers.

"We're in the middle of a site-selection process with them," Johnson said of Honda. "We're cautiously optimistic, and we're not going to get outworked" by competing states.

Fukui did not detail what vehicles the new U.S. plant would produce. But it is highly likely the new facility will roll out such models as the Civic, and the Fit, a small, five-door model that had been exported from Japan, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said Tuesday.

The new plant would boost the company's North American production capacity from 1.4 million to 1.6 million vehicles.

Honda's five plants in North American cannot meet demand, meaning Honda has to import autos. Fukui said he wants to keep production where the demand is, and said the company wants to keep it ration of domestically built vehicles sold in North America at 80 percent.

The new Canadian plant, scheduled for operation in 2008, will be built next to an existing assembly plant in Ontario and cost $140 million. It will employ 340 people.

Flush with cash, Honda is eager to crank up output, particularly in North America, a region that accounts for about half the company's annual global sales. Last month, the company reported a record quarterly profit of 219.5 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in the January-March period, more than double its income from a year ago.

In addition to the new plants, the company will double vehicle production at its plant in Brazil to 100,000 units by 2008, and double output in India to 100,000 by 2007, Fukui said.

The expansion plans contrast sharply with the fortunes of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., which have shuttered plants and laid off workers amid a trail of red ink.

Honda sold 1.65 million units in North America last year, including Mexico and Canada, and forecasts sales to climb to 1.72 million units in the current year. Demand is especially hot for fuel efficient cars like the newly redesigned Civic, which comes in a gasoline-electric hybrid model. Honda said Wednesday it would bring a new hybrid model to market by 2009.

To meet growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, Fukui said Honda would start selling a new hybrid family-style vehicle in 2009 that will be priced lower than the current Civic hybrid. It is targeting global sales of 200,000 a year, half in the United States.

Honda will also begin working on a cleaner next-generation four-cylinder diesel engine that will meet the world's strictest emissions guidelines and have less noise. It envisions selling the new super-clean engines within the next three years.

Honda's shares, which have risen about 14 percent this year, gained 0.78 percent in Tokyo trading Wednesday to close at 7,750 yen ($40.45).

GS69

Honda to Build Subcompat Hybrid, Small Diesel & New US Plant
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Honda (HMC) said Wednesday that it plans to build a new subcompact gas-electric hybrid car by 2009 and will market vehicles equipped with four-cylinder diesel engines in the latest indication of how automakers are responding to high gas prices.

The Japanese automaker also said it will build a third assembly plant in the Midwest. The exact location was not disclosed.

Honda plans to stop making the two-seater Insight, the highest-mileage car sold in the U.S. and the first hybrid introduced in the domestic market, in September.

Through its moves toward more fuel-efficient cars, Honda hopes to raise its U.S. corporate average fuel economy to 30.6 miles per gallon by 2010. Currently, the government mandates that automakers achieve a corporate average of at least 27.5 miles per gallon for cars.

While talking about its moves on hybrids and diesels, Honda didn't rule out other alternative-fuel technologies. The company says it is continuing to study whether E85, a fuel blend of 85% ethanol that is being embraced in Detroit, might be yet another choice.

For now, though, it is sticking to technologies that it knows better. Dashing speculation that Honda might create a hybrid version of its new Fit subcompact, **** Colliver, executive vice president of Honda's North American operation, said the new hybrid will be an entirely new model and will be built in Japan.

Although it was first with hybrids, Honda has since seen archrival Toyota offer a broader array – from its hit Prius to the new hybrid Camry and pricier so-called "performance hybrids" like the Highlander and Lexus 400h SUVs.

"Hybrid technology works best in smaller vehicles," said Honda Senior Vice President John Mendel. "Consumers appear to be trying hybrids for high fuel economy, not...performance."

While the Civic Hybrid remains in short supply, the larger Accord Hybrid has flagged in the market because of its larger V-6 engine that reduces the mileage benefits. Mendel said Honda has no immediate plans to yank the Accord hybrid, but continues to monitor it.

As for the diesel, Honda Vice President Ed Cohen said the timing is right to bring the new breed of quieter, smoother, cleaner engines to the U.S. They achieve 30% better mileage than comparable gas engines. Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler have also made a commitment to diesel in the U.S.

Before the U.S. executives held a telephone conference call with reporters, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui held a press conference in Japan in which he would not give a timeline for making a decision on the location of Honda's new U.S. plant. Honda has two plants in Ohio, a factory in Alabama, and a plant each in Canada and Mexico.

The new $400-million plant will employ 1,500 people and produce about 200,000 vehicles a year when it was completed in 2008.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday — after a Japanese newspaper reported Honda was keen to build another plant in North America — that state officials have been working to lure the automaker to sites in Decatur and Ripley counties, in the southeastern part of the state.

"It is an enormously promising opportunity, and we're going to do all we can, and I am very hopeful, but it is still a multistate competition, and I have nothing further to say about it today," Daniels said.

Japan's No. 3 automaker also plans a new assembly plant in Japan and an engine plant in Canada. The three plants are aimed at meeting an ambitious 34% increase in annual sales to 4.5 million vehicles a year by 2010.

"We have been looking at changes in demand and decided to expand our capacity," Fukui said at the Tokyo news conference. "Competition on a global scale is expected to intensify."

Ohio Lt. Gov. Bruce Johnson said his state is also being considered for the plant, but would not identify potential sites in Ohio, where Honda already employs about 16,000 people.

"We're in the middle of a site-selection process with them," Johnson said. "We're cautiously optimistic, and we're not going to get outworked" by competing states.

Fukui did not detail what vehicles the new U.S. plant would produce. But it is likely the new facility will roll out such models as the Civic, and the Fit, a small, five-door model that had been exported from Japan, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said Tuesday.

The new plant would boost the company's North American production capacity from 1.4 million to 1.6 million vehicles.

Honda's five plants in North American cannot meet demand, meaning Honda has to import autos. Fukui said he wants to keep production where the demand is, and said the company wants to keep its ratio of domestically built vehicles sold in North America at 80%.

The new Canadian plant, scheduled to open in 2008, will be built next to an existing assembly plant in Ontario and cost $140 million. It will employ 340 people.

Flush with cash, Honda is eager to crank up output, particularly in North America, a region that accounts for about half the company's annual global sales. Last month, the company reported a record quarterly profit of 219.5 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in the January-March period, more than double its income from a year ago.

In addition to the new plants, the company will double vehicle production at its plant in Brazil to 100,000 units by 2008, and double output in India to 100,000 by 2007, Fukui said.

The expansion plans contrast sharply with the fortunes of General Motors and Ford Motor, which have shuttered plants and laid off workers amid a sea of red ink.

Honda sold 1.65 million vehicles in North America last year, including Mexico and Canada, and forecasts sales to climb to 1.72 million units in the current year. Demand is especially hot for fuel-efficient cars like the newly redesigned Civic, which comes in a gasoline-electric hybrid model.

Honda's shares have risen about 14% this year.

Overclocker

New hybrid vehicle to be developed, priced below current Civic Hybrid


Honda sold only 320 units of the Insight in the first four months of this year.

American Honda Motor Co. Inc. plans to kill the Insight hybrid this year.

The small, two-seat Insight, introduced in the United States in 1999, sold only 320 units in the first four months of this year. That compares with sales of 30,357 for the competing Toyota Prius, a family sedan embraced by environmentalists.

"Production will stop in September of this year and be discontinued," Honda Executive Vice President Richard Colliver revealed Wednesday, May 17, in a teleconference from Torrance, Calif.

Colliver said Honda is developing a new hybrid that will be smaller than the current Civic. But the new model will not appear until 2009.

The vehicle will be "suitable for family use" and will be priced below the current Civic Hybrid, says Honda CEO Takeo Fukui.

Fukui outlined plans for the new hybrid model as well as for the sale of diesel-powered cars in North America and Japan during a press conference on Wednesday.

He also said Honda plans new vehicle plants in the United States and Japan, a new engine plant in Canada, and a speed-up in its expansion in India.

Fukui said the new hybrid model will be built at Honda's Suzuka, Japan, plant. Honda aims for worldwide sales of about 200,000, including 100,000 in North America.

400,000 hybrids/year

Honda expects to reach those sales volumes "within about two years after sales start," Fukui says. Together with Honda's other hybrid-powered nameplates, the carmaker's hybrid sales then will total almost 300,000 worldwide, he says.

The new hybrid will be sold only as a Honda, says Koichi Kondo, Honda's senior managing director and COO for North American operations. There will not be an Acura version.

Even though half of the new hybrid's sales will be in North America, Honda did not consider building it there, Kondo says. "But we may have to in the future," he adds.

Honda also is developing a cleaner, next-generation version of its 4-cylinder diesel engine. That engine has been sold in Europe since 2004. The new engine will be on the market within the next three years.

Fukui says the engine will be sold in the United States and Japan as well as Europe.

The new diesel aims to meet stringent pending regulations in Europe and Canada that effectively require NOx emissions equivalent to those of a gasoline engine.

Dual diesels

Honda also is developing a clean V-6 diesel engine. That will be an all-new engine not based on the current 4-cylinder diesel.

The new diesels are not planned specifically for either the Honda or Acura brand, and could go in either brand's vehicles, Kondo says.

Fukui repeated his view that hybrid powertrains are most appropriate for small cars, and clean diesels for medium- and large-size cars.

The hybrid models and the diesel-powered cars are part of Honda's goal of reducing the carbon dioxide emissions of its fleet.

In 2000 on a global basis, Honda cars and trucks averaged 179.5 grams of CO2 exhaust emissions per kilometer traveled, or about 11.6 ounces per mile. Despite increased sales of larger-sized vehicles such as SUVs and minivans, Honda reduced its average CO2 emissions by 5 percent during the five-year period up to 2005.

Honda now targets a further reduction of 5 percent or more. It thus aims to achieve a total reduction of 10 percent by 2010 compared to the 2000 level.

Soruce: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../60517001/1041

Trexus

Honda is killing the Insight. There was this movie with John Travolta I believe it was called "Be Cool" and he drove around in the movie with a Honda Insight. Although in the movie I never saw him get in or out of the vehicle...

LexFather

I heard this new plant may build the next NSX and RL, both with V-20 engines and super DOOPER AWD, because they will both have 6 wheels, instead of 4.

Lexmex

If I were John Travolta I wouldn't want to be seen in one of those and I guess that is probably what happened.

GS69

Honda Stokes Expectations of Another US Plant
Japanese automaker to make announcement in Indiana, possible site of new factory
June 28 2006: 8:46 AM EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) -- Honda Motor Co. scheduled a high-profile news conference for Wednesday in the Indiana town of Greensburg, stoking expectations that it had chosen the site for a $400 million auto plant.

Indiana officials have lobbied hard to convince Honda (down $0.78 to $30.66, Charts) to bring the plant to the state, which is projected to be completed by 2008 and to employ some 1,500 workers.
honda.03.jpg

Ohio, already the home to two Honda assembly plants and an engine plant, had also been in negotiations with Honda over the planned investment, state officials have said.

Honda said it had scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time in Greensburg, which is about 47 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

Honda said last month that it would locate its new plant in the Midwest but has declined to specify which sites were being considered. The company said then it would have an announcement by July.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who traveled to Japan last week on an economic development mission, scored a win in March by convincing Toyota Motor Co. to shift production of its Camry sedan to a Subaru plant in Lafayette, Ind.

Honda, the first Asian automaker to build vehicles in the United States, has outlined an aggressive growth strategy for North America. The company plans to grow North American sales by 16 percent to more than 2 million vehicles by the end of the decade.

Honda's U.S. sales have grown almost 9 percent so far this year, bucking a downtrend in the industry.

The company, which has the highest average fuel economy across its fleet of vehicles of any automaker in the U.S. market, is expected to continue to gain share from the increasing consumer concern over gas prices.

mmarshall

This is nonsense. We don't have to put up with this. Send this company rep down to Guantanamo for some " persuasion ". He / she won't " decline " much longer.