Honda Marks 30 Years of U.S. Auto Manufacturing

MARYSVILLE, Ohio — The Marysville Auto Plant has started production of the all-new 2013 Honda Accord, marking 30 years of automotive manufacturing in the U.S. The ninth-generation Accord will go on sale next month.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich along with other government and community leaders joined Honda associates at the plant as the first mass-produced 2013 Accords rolled off the assembly line. The Accord has been in continuous production at the Marysville Auto Plant since it started operations as the first Japanese automaker in the U.S. on Nov. 1, 1982, with production of the second-generation Accord Sedan. The plant has produced more than 9 million Accords during the past three decades.

Along with a total redesign of the vehicle, the ninth-generation Accord is the first in North America to apply Honda’s new "Earth Dreams" engine and transmission technologies. This includes a new four-cylinder direct injection engine paired with a new Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), and a new V-6 engine with six-speed automatic transmission that provide an excellent combination of fuel efficiency and performance.

Honda is investing $220 million to launch the CVT production for vehicles produced in North America, including $120 million for the new CVT line and nearly $100 million at the Anna Engine Plant for the production of the CVT’s high-tech pulley components starting next year. The expanded production will create 150 new jobs at the two plants.

Honda says the Accord also is an important product for domestic suppliers in Ohio and the rest of North America, which manufacture the vast majority of the parts and components for its production. More than 200 parts suppliers in the U.S. manufacture parts for the Accord.

Honda’s parts purchasing will exceed $20 billion this year in North America from more than 600 parts suppliers in the region, including 500 in the U.S. and 150 in Ohio. Parts purchasing has continued to grow in the region as Honda’s production has increased in North America and due to increasing exports of parts from North American suppliers to Honda plants in other parts of the world.

Courtesy of aftermarketnews.com