Honda will spend $3 billion on a new Ohio auto plant, its fourth car factory in the state. The plant adds room for 240,000 more vehicles a year. Honda expects production to begin in 2029, pending final government approvals.
The company made the announcement on November 9 in Marysville, Ohio. That is where its American car production began more than four decades ago. Honda says the new plant will create more than 2,000 American jobs.
Honda did not say which models the plant will build. Instead, it described a flexible factory that can handle hybrid, gasoline and battery-electric vehicles. At the same time, it outlined upgrades at several other plants across North America.
Where the new Honda Ohio auto plant goes
The new Honda Ohio auto plant sits on land between the East Liberty and Marysville auto plants, according to Honda’s November 9 release. It will be Honda’s fourth auto plant in Ohio. It will also be the company’s ninth auto-related production facility in the United States.
The capacity jump is large. Once the plant runs, Honda’s U.S. auto production capacity rises to about 1.3 million vehicles a year. Across North America, capacity climbs to about 1.9 million.
Hybrids sit at the center of the plan. Honda says hybrid powertrain capacity in Ohio will grow by 250 percent. Back in May 2026, the company also announced plans for 15 new Honda and Acura hybrid models worldwide by 2030.
The other plants getting money
The new factory is only part of the package. In Alabama, Honda will retool the auto plant for a new V6 hybrid engine. It will also upgrade Line 1 there so the plant can build the Passport.
Ohio gets more work, too. The Anna Engine Plant will retool for a next-generation four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine, and it gets a new parts consolidation center. Meanwhile, Transmission Plant-Ohio will convert a transmission line into a second hybrid system line.
In Georgia, the transmission plant adds an assembly line for next-generation hybrid systems for larger vehicles. Finally, Honda of Canada Mfg. in Alliston, Ontario, will retool for next-generation hybrid and gasoline models. That plant will also build engines again.
What Honda and Ohio said
Bob Nelson is executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co. He called the package “one of the most significant commitments in our history.” He also tied it to the nearly 50 years Honda has spent building products in America.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine also spoke at the event. He called the plant “an investment in Ohio’s people and Ohio’s future.” Honda says it has about 33,000 associates in North America across 18 plants. It also says it has invested more than $28 billion in North American manufacturing.
Bigger than the early reports
The final figure tops what leaked earlier this fall. In September, Repairer Driven News rounded up reports of a $2.5 billion hybrid plant in Ohio. Those reports pointed to production in 2030 and about 250,000 large hybrids a year. Honda did not confirm the plan at the time.
The same roundup quoted CEO Toshihiro Mibe from July. He said Honda’s seven North American plants were nearing their combined capacity of 1.67 million vehicles. In the end, Honda announced $3 billion, 240,000 vehicles of capacity and a 2029 start.
Why Honda is betting on hybrids
The new plant follows a change of course. Earlier this year, Honda stopped plans to build three electric vehicles in Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reported, according to the same roundup. After that, the company announced more hybrid and conventional engine production in North America.
North America matters a great deal to Honda. In fact, the region accounts for 40% of the company’s global sales, according to CBT News figures cited in the roundup. So adding capacity here, rather than abroad, follows the buyers.
Nelson made the same point in the release. He said “these investments strengthen America’s role as a cornerstone of Honda’s global future.” For now, though, Honda has kept the new plant’s first models under wraps.
Where Honda’s Ohio story started
Honda’s roots in Ohio go back to 1977. That year, Soichiro Honda and Ohio Governor James Rhodes sealed the deal with a handshake, according to Honda’s Ohio history page. Motorcycles came first, at a $35 million plant in Marysville.
Cars followed soon after. On November 1, 1982, the first Accord rolled off the line at the Marysville Auto Plant. Then, in 1985, the Anna Engine Plant began in a farmhouse in Anna, Ohio. Forty-four years after that first Accord, the new Honda Ohio auto plant is due to start building vehicles in 2029.
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