Honda Motor Co. on Tuesday announced two major investments tied to electric-vehicle and battery production in Ohio, marking the latest move by a global automaker to advance its electrification strategy amid tightening government policies and growing consumer demand.
The Japanese automaker will invest $700 million to retool several existing assembly and powertrain plants in Ohio for production of EVs. And with joint-venture partner and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution, Honda will spend $3.5 billion to build a battery plant. The companies revealed Tuesday that the previously-announced plant will be built in Ohio's Fayette County, about 40 miles southwest of state capital Columbus, near I-71 and U.S. Route 35, according to a news release.
The investments mark an expansion of Honda's long-standing presence in Ohio, home to its Marysville Auto Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant and Anna Engine Plant. The $700 million outlay will be used to convert those three facilities for EV production. The plan is slated to create more than 300 new jobs, according to the company.
The joint-venture battery plant is expected to employ 2,200 people. It will produce pouch-type lithium-ion batteries for Honda's EVs. Pending regulatory approvals, Honda and LGES expect to formally establish the JV later this year. Their overall investment in the venture is projected to reach $4.4 billion.
Workers at Anna will produce battery cases. Then on a sub-assembly line at Marysville, workers will combine those cases with the JV plant-assembled battery modules. The battery units then will be installed into electric vehicles built at both Marysville and East Liberty.
"This is a very challenging time for our entire industry, but also a very exciting time as Honda invests in full electric vehicle production in the Buckeye State," Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. Inc., said in a statement. "Honda has built hybrid-electric vehicles in Ohio for a number of years, and the experience and expertise of our associates in manufacturing, product development, and purchasing will serve as an important foundation as we transition to the electrified future."
Honda plans to start selling EVs on its new Honda e:Architecture platform in North America in 2026. The company aims to be carbon neutral by 2050 and has said it aims for battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles to make up 100% of its sales in North America by 2040.
The company did not offer further details Tuesday about the EVs it will build at the Ohio plants.
Construction on the battery plant is slated to start in early 2023, with the companies aiming to complete it by the end of 2024. Mass production of the battery modules is expected to begin by the end of 2025. The plant will reach an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours.
Honda began building products in North America in 1979, when it started making motorcycles in Marysville. It launched auto production at the Marysville plant in 1982.
"Honda is proud of our history in Ohio, where our U.S. manufacturing operations began morethan four decades ago," said Nelson. "Now, as we expand Honda's partnership with Ohio, we are investing in aworkforce that will create the power source for our future Honda and Acura electric vehicles."
