Honda is announcing a planned expansion at its Marysville manufacturing facilities.
The company will spend $3 billion dollars on a new automobile plant in central Ohio north of Columbus. The expansion is meant to meet growing customer demand for hybrid vehicles in North America.
Honda of America Executive Vice President Bob Nelson said the commitment comes as the company approaches its 50-year anniversary of building products in the U.S.
“The plant will be one of Honda’s most advanced in the world. It will create more than 2,000 new jobs and add annual production capacity for 240,000 vehicles," Nelson said.
Nelson said production is expected to begin in 2029.
This new plant is part of a broader set of investments at Honda operations in Ohio, Alabama, and Georgia. Nelson said it will "expand and strengthen an integrated U.S. production network to boost production of hybrid-electric vehicles and the engines and hybrid systems that power them." This new plant joins the battery plant in Jeffersonville, which is a joint venture between Honda and LG.
Nelson said flexibility has been built into the production so it can shift to match customer preferences. He said right now that's hybrid vehicles, adding that they account for almost 30% of the company's product lineup now.
"This is a partnership that has been going on now for 50 years," said Gov. Mike DeWine said. He noted he was the ninth governor to work with Honda throughout the years as the company has grown its footprint in Ohio.
About the same time Honda was making the announcement, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a tax credit for the project. JobsOhio, the state's non-profit job creation company, announced the deal on its website but didn't give specifics about it.
