East Liberty, Ohio – To strengthen its position and growth in the light-truck segment, Honda plans to add a second U.S. production location for the Acura MDX luxury SUV. This move will help meet growing demand for both Honda and Acura light trucks produced in North America, including the 2016 Honda Pilot launching this summer.
Leveraging its flexible manufacturing capabilities, Honda will add production of the Acura MDX to its East Liberty, Ohio, plant beginning in 2017. Production of the MDX will continue at the company’s Lincoln, Alabama, plant, which currently makes both the MDX and its V-6 engine. Honda will invest $85 million in East Liberty for the addition of new welding equipment, the extension of vehicle conveyors and other changes required to support production of the MDX.
“This initiative will give us greater flexibility to meet growing customer demand for our Honda and Acura light truck models,” says John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. “Increasing our flexibility and fully utilizing available production resources is critical to our future growth, which will be driven heavily by our light truck business and new models like the Honda HR-V crossover and redesigned Pilot SUV.”
In January, U.S. sales of Honda and Acura light trucks were up 25.2% to 52,169 vehicles, a new January record. Acura light-truck sales rose 13.1%, while Honda brand light-truck sales rose 27.1% for the month.
The East Liberty Plant currently produces the 5-passenger Acura RDX sport-utility vehicle, the slow-selling Honda Crosstour, and the Honda CR-V small crossover. The Lincoln, Alabama, plant is currently the exclusive production location for the Acura MDX, Honda Pilot SUV, and Honda Odyssey. The plant will strengthen its light truck lineup when it resumes production of the next generation Honda Ridgeline pickup next year.
Source: Honda