Honda announced Monday that it will build a new $3 billion auto plant in central Ohio, creating more than 2,000 jobs and adding capacity to build 240,000 vehicles a year.
The plant will sit on land between Honda's existing Marysville and East Liberty factories in Union County, and production is expected to begin in 2029, pending final government approvals. It will be Honda's fourth auto plant in Ohio and its ninth auto-related production facility in the United States, raising the company's total U.S. production capacity to roughly 1.3 million vehicles a year.
The factory is designed to be flexible, able to build hybrid, gasoline-powered and battery-electric vehicles on the same lines so Honda can follow customer demand rather than betting on a single powertrain. Hybrids now make up almost 30 percent of Honda's lineup, according to Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co.
Counting related investments at the Anna Engine Plant and the Honda Transmission Plant-Ohio in Russells Point, Honda's total new commitment in the state comes to $3.38 billion and 2,390 jobs, according to JobsOhio, the state's private economic development nonprofit. The transmission plant will be retooled to produce two next-generation hybrid systems, increasing Honda's Ohio hybrid-system capacity by 250 percent, while the Anna plant will prepare a production line for a new four-cylinder engine.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine joined Honda, JobsOhio, One Columbus and Union County leaders for the announcement in Marysville. Honda said it chose Ohio for its skilled workforce, its nearby supplier base and its adjacent vehicle development operations. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a tax credit for the project Monday morning; neither Honda nor JobsOhio disclosed its value.
Honda also plans additional investments in Alabama, where it will build a new V6 hybrid engine, and in Georgia, along with a C$867 million commitment to its Canadian operations. The Ohio announcement was larger and earlier than Japanese media had reported in September, when a Nikkei report put the investment at up to $2.5 billion with production starting in 2030; a Honda spokesperson said at the time that no decisions had been made.
