WASHINGTON- Honda The US unit said on Tuesday it would move production from its sedan tuning in Indiana in 2025 after assembling the model in Marysville, Ohio for more than 40 years as part of its move to electric vehicle production. Marysville will be Honda’s first U.S. auto plant to transition to manufacturing electric vehicles.
The move comes after Honda and LG announced in October that they would build a planned $4.4 billion joint venture. battery factory at a site near Jeffersonville, Ohio and began earlier this month.
The battery plant, to be completed by the end of 2024, will cover more than 2 million square feet and targets an annual production capacity of around 40 gigawatt hours.
Honda said last year it was separately investing $700 million to retool three Ohio plants for electric vehicle production by 2026, including Marysville.
Marysville will begin preparing for electric vehicle production as early as January by consolidating its two production lines into one to allow it to begin building electric vehicle infrastructure, the company said.
Honda started assembly of the Accord at its Marysville plant in November 1982, making it the first Japanese automaker to produce cars in the United States. Since then, he has produced more than 12.5 million chords at the Ohio plant.
In 1989, the Accord was the first Japanese model to hold the title of America’s best-selling car, with 362,700 vehicles sold.
In recent years, Americans have abandoned sedans for sport utility vehicles and crossover vehicles. Honda sold 154,600 Accords in the United States last year, down 24% from 2021.
Honda said production of the Accord will move to its Indiana auto plant, which builds the Civic sedan and CR-V.
Honda’s transmission plant in Georgia will dedicate a production line to producing electric axles – a key component for electric vehicles – and its engine plant in Anna, Ohio will shift production of some components engine to a Honda engine plant in Alabama to prepare for production of battery boxes for EV models, the company said.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jamie Freed
