Indiana, Here Comes Honda
The Indiana Comeback is Under Way
A $550 million Honda Motor Co. assembly plant will help the Japanese automaker meet a growing North American hunger for its cars and help invigorate a state hit hard by manufacturing job losses, officials and analysts said. The southeastern Indiana plant — part of a $1.18 billion global expansion — eventually will produce 200,000 vehicles annually, increasing Honda’s North American production to 1.6 million a year.
In 2005, American Honda sold 1.5 million Honda and Acura cars and light trucks, and the continent accounts for about half Honda’s annual global sales, the company said. Honda officials expect its sixth North American plant will help meet that growing demand. Indiana, which has lost 98,000 industrial jobs since 2000, persuaded the company to build on 1,700 acres west of Greensburg, midway between Indianapolis and Cincinnati.
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