Honda to upgrade west Georgia plant

Honda plans to spend $100 million on a new assembly line and other production changes at its transmission factory in Tallapoosa, in west Georgia.

The automaker will produce 10-speed automatic transmissions at the plant, Honda Precision Parts of Georgia.

The investment will not mean additional hiring, unless the new transmission line does very well and production increases, said Eric Mauk, a spokesman for Honda.

The Tallapoosa plant has about 475 employees, said Mauk.

The company has its North American headquarters in California. But with so much of the nation’s auto-making done in the South, Honda and other carmakers have developed a large network of plants to serve the assembly plants.

Tallapoosa, nearly 60 miles west of Atlanta, is about 60 miles east of Lincoln, Ala., where Honda has an auto assembly plant.

The Honda factory currently produces more than 375,000 transmissions a year for Honda and Acura vehicles.

The new transmission will be placed first in the higher-priced versions of the 2018 Honda Odyssey minivan, then included in light trucks and other car models, a Honda press release said.

The company also announced it will invest $49 million in its transmission facility in Russells Point, Ohio.