Honda, the first Japanese auto manufacturer to establish manufacturing facilities in the United States, has now reached another milestone by marking three decades of car-building in North America. The first vehicle to roll off of the original production line in Marysville, Ohio, was the silver-gray 1983 Honda Accord sedan seen here that is currently on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Since that time, Honda has expanded its U.S. manufacturing operations on a massive scale, and now has a total cumulative investment here in excess of $12.5 billion – including a just-announced $200 million outlay headed for its Russells Point, Ohio, transmission plant and Anna, Ohio, engine facility.
Honda’s four current U.S plants can produce up to 1.08 million Honda and Acura vehicles annually. In addition to manufacturing the latest Accord and Civic models here — with Acura MDX production to start next year at its Lincoln, Alabama plant — Honda of America also continues to increase its R&D and sales operations in this country and has been tasked with playing a critical lead role in expanding the global scope of the Honda Motor Company. By year’s end, Honda of America will have exported its 1 millionth vehicle. It also will increase exports of various components made here by nearly 70 percent in 2012 to better support the Honda Motor Company’s cause in South America, Europe and Asia.
