Honda Marysville’s plant paves way for EVS’ future
Facility to play key role in automaker’s evolution
The Marysville Auto Plant will be Honda’s first plant in the U.S. to transition to the production of electric vehicles, the automaker said Tuesday as it laid out how the move to EVS will affect its U.S. manufacturing operations.
Last October, Honda said it will invest $700 million to retool the Marysville Auto Plant, the East Liberty Auto Plant and the Anna Engine Plant as part of a plan to establish an EV hub in Ohio that will prepare for the production of batteryelectric vehicles beginning in 2026.
As part of that move, Honda announced the formation of a joint venture with South Korean company LG Energy Solution to invest a minimum of $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Fayette County. That investment is projected to grow to $4.4 billion.
The hub will play a key role for Honda in developing the company’s knowledge and expertise in EV production that will be shared across Honda’s North American auto production network, the automaker has said.
Honda’s goal is to have battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles represent 100% of its vehicle sales by 2040 and to achieve carbon neutrality for all of its products and corporate activities by 2050.
Even as Honda prepares for EV production, the automaker said it will continue making vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and hybridelectric vehicles to meet anticipated demand through at least 2030.
The success of those vehicle sales will support the investment in electric vehicles, Honda says.
Honda established manufacturing operations in the U.S. in 1979 with the start of motorcycle
production in Marysville. The company’s 12 plants in the U.S. employ more than 22,000 workers.
Honda has said the battery plant will have 2,200 workers when it is ready to begin making batteries and the retooling of the three Ohio plants will add 327 jobs.
Here’s a look at Honda’s plans:
Marysville Auto Plant
The plant, which is where Honda began auto production in the U.S. in 1982, will begin preparing for EV production as early as next January by consolidating its two production lines that make vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and hybrid-electric systems to one line.
That will enable the plant to begin building the infrastructure necessary for EV production.
Each associate at the plant will have a position as part of the transition, and those associates will begin training programs designed to get them ready for the skills required for EV production.
Indiana Auto Plant
With the consolidation of the production lines at Marysville, production of the popular Accord will shift to the Indiana Auto Plant in 2025.
This will allow Honda to maintain production volume of a key model for Honda while enabling the Marysville plant to transition to EV production.
Anna Engine Plant
Component production of two different generations of engines will be shifted from Anna to the Alabama Auto Plant.
Machining of the engine head, which ended in Anna in February, for the existing V6 that power many Honda light trucks will be added to the Alabama Auto Plant this month.
Engine block casting for the new V6 engine introduced in the new 2023 Honda Pilot will begin at the Alabama plant in August.
These moves will allow space at Anna to be used for future IPU Case production.
These cases will be combined with the battery modules that will be made at the Fayette County battery plant.
These batteries will power the EVS to be produced in Marysville and East Liberty.