MARYSVILLE, Ohio — honda motor industry The automaker announced Monday that it plans to invest $3 billion to build a new auto assembly plant in Ohio.
Honda said the new plant will be built near its other facilities in Marysville, Ohio, and will begin production in 2029, with an annual production capacity of 240,000 vehicles and more than 2,000 jobs.
The facility is expected to be able to produce conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines, fully electric vehicles and hybrid models, which are increasingly popular in the United States.
The plant is expected to increase Honda’s compact car production capacity in the United States to 1.3 million units annually. The company currently has 12 manufacturing plants in the United States, eight of which produce engines or light vehicles for the automotive industry.
This will be the company’s first new mass-production vehicle assembly plant in the U.S. since opening a facility in Indiana in 2008. The company also opened a $70 million high-performance vehicle facility in Ohio in 2016 and a multibillion-dollar joint venture battery factory in Ohio earlier this year.
“This is not just an investment in another plant. This is an investment in the future of Honda manufacturing in America,” Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said at a presentation at the company’s American Heritage Center in Ohio.
The auto industry is aiming for more local production as profits shrink due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and soaring logistics costs.
Honda’s plans to build a new factory come about two weeks after Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi announced it would invest more than $4 billion in its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Georgia.
car manufacturers in detroit general motors and ford motor and international car manufacturers toyota motors And Hyundai recently announced it would spend billions of dollars to build or upgrade facilities in the United States.
Honda’s announcement comes after the automaker in May indefinitely suspended an $11 billion investment plan to produce all-electric vehicles and batteries in Canada. The company also canceled three EVs planned for the U.S. market.
The new Ohio plant is expected to significantly boost Honda’s U.S. production and sales. Honda announced that almost all of its cars sold in the United States, including its luxury brand Acura, are produced in North America, with more than 60% of them being produced in the United States.
American Honda Motor Company executive Jennifer Thomas recently emphasized the Japanese automaker’s commitment to the United States and the need for additional production capacity.
“To be competitive in this market, we need to build our product here,” Thomas, senior vice president of corporate affairs, said Oct. 27 in Detroit. “We are focused on making the most of our existing production capacity, but we are reaching our limits and are considering all options.”
Thomas also warned that the auto industry faces a “catastrophic” scenario if the U.S. and Canada fail to reach a new trade deal by the end of this year, while President Trump has threatened to double tariffs on Canadian cars and parts from 25% to 50% on January 1 if the two countries fail to reach a deal.
Honda said it has manufactured more than 33 million vehicles and 39 million engines in the U.S. since it began producing cars in the U.S. in 1982.
The Japanese automaker currently has more than 30,000 employees in the U.S.
