Honda allocates $700M for Ohio factories to make EVS
Honda’s retooled Marysville Auto Plant will be able to produce both electric vehicles and vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, giving the automaker flexibility amid signs that demand for EVS is slowing.
With construction of its battery plant near Jeffersonville on track to be finished by the end of 2024, Honda also says it’s making progress retooling its Ohio plants to start making electric vehicles by the end of next year and making Ohio its EV hub for its North American operations.
“The EV hub is the starting point for our electrified future,” Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor, told reporters Friday. “It’s where Honda associates will develop the knowledge and expertise in EV production that will be shared across Honda’s North American auto production network in coming years.’’
Beyond building the EV battery plant in Jeffersonville with LG Energy Solution, Honda is spending $700 million to retrofit three Ohio plants − the Marysville Auto Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant and Anna Engine Plant − to build electric vehicles and components.
Honda expects to hire 300 new workers, while 300 associates at Marysville will train for new jobs assembling the unit that houses the EV battery and serves as part of the vehicle platform.
Honda expects to maintain steady employment across all locations as part of the transition to EVS. EVS don’t require as many parts as those that run on internal combustion engines, raising worries among some that fewer workers will be required to make them.
The updates that Honda provided Friday come as Honda and Acura prepare for the introduction of its first allelectric SUVS in the North American market, the Honda Prologue and the Acura ZDX.
Honda is targeting 100% zero emissions sales by 2040.
Here are the EV updates at Honda’s Ohio plants affected by the transition to EVS:
Marysville Auto Plant
The plant has consolidated its two production lines to one so that it can produce EVS and vehicles powered by
internal combustion engines on the same line.
It has torn out much of its second line.
Honda says making ICE vehicles and EVS on the same line gives it flexibility depending on market demand.
“We do believe we can very efficiently make the ICE and the EV on the same line and that’s what this retooling is about,” Nelson said.
At the moment, EV sales growth has slowed, according to Kelly Blue Book. EV sales for the first three months of 2024 were up from a year ago, but down from the fourth quarter.
The additional space from tearing out much of line two will make it easier for workers on the line to move and the more efficient for parts delivery and staging for vehicle assembly.
Honda has renovated an area of the plant to create a workspace where some 300 associates will start the process of assembling the units that house the batteries. Once production begins, the Marysville plant will supply the units needed for the production of EVS at Marysville and East Liberty.
Anna Engine Plant
The plant makes makes engines and engine components, transmissions, cam shafts and crankshafts.
Now it will build the case that houses EV batteries and serve as the main frame structure for the floor of Honda and Acura EVS.
The plant will install six, 6,000-ton high-pressure die cast machines that will make the case. The machines are more than 31 feet tall.
To create space for the production of the case, the plants has transferred production of engine components for two generations of engines to the Alabama Auto Plant.
East Liberty Auto Plant
The plant will have a single production line making heavier weight EVS.
Overhead conveyors that carry vehicles through the plant will be strengthen. The paint department will be expanded to accommodate the heavy weight of EVS.
Jeffersonville Battery Plant
The exterior part of the more than 2 million-square-foot building is complete and hiring has started for the plant, including engineering and support positions.
Information about technician and production roles is expected to be announced in the coming months.
Honda and LG Energy Solution have committed to invest $3.5 billion in the plant with the overall investment projected to reach $4.4 billion. mawilliams@dispatch.com @Bizmarkwilliams