Honda Moving Some Production to China & Mexico

[webby]

Honda Moving Some Production to China & Mexico

The very first production car from China has made it to North America, though it's not what you might think. In an effort to move more of its production out of Japan, Honda has begun manufacturing Fit models in the People's Republic and importing them to Canada. There's no indication that the vehicles will make their way to the U.S. in the future, however. While there are plenty of automakers who operate plants in China, only a fraction of the vehicles built there are made for export. Last year, only three percent were sent outside of the country's borders.

Honda and other Japanese manufacturers have begun investigating production facilities outside of the U.S. to combat the rising Yen, and Honda says that the company will begin producing Fit models in Mexico for U.S. customers soon. According to The New York Times, Honda may be reticent to test the American waters with a Chinese-built vehicle for fear of risking the company's reputation for quality and reliability. That's despite the fact that the company says Chinese-built Fit models are held to the same production quality standards as any Honda vehicle built elsewhere in the world.

 

[KennyGS]

Other than final assembly in China, I wonder what percentage of the car's components & subassemblies are also made there.

 

[webby]

found a 2011 fit window sticker online, and it says:

US/Canada parts = 0%
foreign parts = 90% Japan
NOTE: parts content does not include final assembly, distribution, or non-parts cost

not 100% on how to interpret the last line.

 

[KennyGS]

That's still very high JDM content.

 

[webby]

the 2007 Fit window sticker shows 0% us/can, and 100% Japan.. hmmm

 

[Ron Flood]

i guess if you think about it.... how many assembled cars fit into a crate? as to how many car parts can you fit into a crate? 2.....? compared to at the very least 12... to ship a crate from the pacific northwest to asia is about $2K.. it just makes sense to assemble it when it gets to its destination.. not to mention the government subsidies for all these car manufacturers.. the last US bailout is BIG proof of that....

 

[webby]

But they're saying they will build it in Mexico or china, and then ship it to Canada to be sold

 

[KennyGS]

Chinese assembled Hondas will never be sold in the U.S.

 

[webby]

But they're selling them in Canada

 

[KennyGS]

But they're selling them in Canada

Yes, I understood that. I'm saying they will never sell Chinese-made Hondas in the U.S.

 

[webby]

Like the US wouldn't buy them, or?

 

[KennyGS]

There is a real fight going on over imported U.S. automobiles into China. The Chinese tax and penalize them so much, that they cost 3 to 4 times their price in the U.S. to sell there. This has stemmed from other disagreements, and lately from the U.S. accusing China of flooding the solar panel market.

It appears that China no longer cares about WTO regulations. So, it is my opinion that the U.S. would probably create taxes and tariffs that are so high, it would prevent any imports of Chinese assembled autos here.

 

[webby]

I totally get what you're saying. I read the article about the taxes being imposed

 

[webby]

It's official:


Honda Begins Construction of New Auto Plant in Celaya, Mexico
$800 million Plant Will Produce Honda Fit Subcompact Model Starting in Spring 2014

03/28/2012 - CELAYA, Mexico
Honda de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (HDM) laid the foundation stone for the construction of its new vehicle production plant in Celaya, Guanajuato at an event attended by Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, president of Mexico and Takanobu Ito, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. The plant will begin operation in 2014 with production of the Honda Fit subcompact model.

With this new facility in Mexico, Honda continues to advance its commitment to invest and grow its operations in North America. With growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, the new plant will increase Honda's ability to meet customer needs for subcompact vehicles from within North America.

Expected to employ approximately 3,200 associates at its full annual capacity of 200,000 units, the new Honda de Mexico plant in Celaya will produce the Honda Fit subcompact model both for the Mexican market and for the U.S. and Canadian markets, as well as other regions.

"Considering the needs of the Mexican market, which is expecting continued growth in the future, and also serving as a global production base for the North American region and beyond, we decided to make the Fit the first product to be produced here," Ito said.

Also, we will create a highly efficient production system that allows us to provide high quality products at an affordable price both by expanding the use of local parts and by utilizing global parts sourcing," he said.

The new plant will occupy 5.66 million-square meters near Celaya, Guanajuato, about 210 miles east of two existing HDM plants in El Salto, Jalisco, which build automobiles, motorcycles and auto parts.

The Celaya plant will apply Honda's advanced and highly efficient manufacturing system to produce both vehicles and engines. The new Honda plant will be the company's eighth auto plant – and its 10th auto assembly line – in North America. The new plant will boost Honda's capital investment in its North American operations to nearly US$21 billion.

Honda employs more than 33,000 associates in North America. Production operations related to automobiles include four auto plants, two auto engine production facilities and two transmission plants in the United States. In addition, Honda has two auto plants and an auto engine plant in Canada, and an auto plant in El Salto.

The new plant in Mexico will increase Honda's automobile production capacity in North America from 1.63 million units to 1.87 million in spring 2014. In 2011, more than 85 percent of the Honda and Acura cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. were produced in North America. In addition to region-specific models, including the Honda Odyssey, Pilot and Ridgeline, and the Acura TL, MDX and RDX, Honda produces key global models such as the Honda Civic, Accord and CR-V in North America. The addition of Fit production in Mexico means Honda will produce all four of its global models in North America.

Emphasizing Honda's commitment to environmental responsibility, 13 of Honda's 14 North American manufacturing plants operating in North America meet the ISO 14001 international environmental management standard.

 

[SCFast]

sad to hear they didn't build it here in the US

 

[KennyGS]