Honda Pumps $335 Million in Upgrades for Ohio Operations

Racing towards productivity and fuel-efficiency, Honda Motor Co. pumps $355 million in upgrades at plants in Ohio. The car manufacturer’s plans to make cars in the US include $166 million of improvements to the East Liberty facility and a $64 million stamping press at its Marysville plant, explained Ron Lietzke, spokesman for the company’s assembly unit, according to Automotive News.

"The driver of the projects is to improve all our characteristics. If we end up increasing production capacity as a result, that's fine," Ron Lietzke was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source. The manufacturer is preparing for a full North American recovery next month after parts shortages were triggered by Japan’s March earthquake.

It is worth mentioning the fact that US sales dipped 2.6 percent this year, and also the market share slipped to 9.3 percent from 10.6 percent as industrywide deliveries rose 11 percent. Also output t Honda’s auto-assembly plants in the US, Canada and Mexico plunged by 26 percent to 559,981 this year from 754,807 a year ago. Boosting fuel-economy to comply with regulations is the unit’s responsibility, explained Frank Paluch, senior vice president of Honda R&D Americas.

“We are very aware of those targets and where our responsibility is for CAFE within the lineup. There are set plans how to meet them. By the 2016 model introductions, we'll target about an 18 percent improvement, specifically for our areas,If consumers are buying a lot more hybrids, we can easily meet those requirements. If consumers don't buy a lot more hybrids or don't buy more battery-electric vehicles, we're going to have to think about other ways to meet those goals," Frank Paluch as the source quotes.