Honda is well underway with a $700 million effort to retool three of its factories and create a new $3.5 billion battery plant to mass produce electric vehicles in the United States. But it also highlights how flexible it is in making changes to accommodate that production.
As confirmed Friday, they will be able to produce hundreds of electric vehicles a day at the revamped Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio — potentially reaching levels that surpass total electric vehicle sales in US 2023 for all but Tesla or by the way, to surpass recent EV output at any other US EV factory.
Or it could take a more conservative approach, creating hundreds of gasoline-powered models. Or both. It depends on the market, the company emphasized.
“We have complete flexibility in our ability to adjust the lines as we need,” Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda, told Green Car Reports.
Honda did not commit to actual production volumes of electric vehicles compared to gasoline and hybrid models, but it emphasized that the “unique flexible assembly line” at Marysville is “a strategic advantage to meet quickly to the changing needs of the market.
Honda 2024’s opening statement
What are the strategic advantages of electric vehicles with changing demand?
At Marysville alone, the total output of that powertrain combination could nearly equal the plant’s peak output of about 950 vehicles per day—with an annual vehicle capacity of 220,000.
Honda emphasized that this flexibility is in line with its original plans and that it intends to produce electric vehicles at both the Marysville and East Liberty plants. Honda’s so-called electric vehicle hub, announced in 2022, includes four different facilities in Ohio—Marysville, the East Liberty Plant, the Anna Engine Plant, and a battery plant in a joint venture with LG Energy Solution . It also makes Honda’s hybrid system and engines in Ohio.
Honda prepares EV center in Ohio
Honda prepares EV center in Ohio
Marysville will begin electric vehicle production for the first time starting in 2025, and with more than 40 years of manufacturing gasoline-powered models at Marysville—Honda’s first in the United States—it will be the benchmark for its methods. produce electric vehicles and establish regional supply chains.
The automaker previously had two assembly lines in Marysville, but it will replace those with a single, innovative line that can freely combine production of electric vehicles and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. ). At East Liberty, a retool is needed, and at both facilities they are in the process of creating more space in the line layout to accommodate that giant battery pack, as well as additional space at the end of the line to Verify additional software required by Electric Vehicles. Honda said employment will be more stable than when it had two lines.
Honda Space-Hub Concept – 2024 CES
Transmission greater than Giga Texas
Honda will also manufacture the integrated power units (IPUs) for this upcoming electric vehicle, including additional hardware and software, in Ohio. They will be cast in two pieces, welded together, but built using a 31-foot-tall, 6,000-ton die casting machine — taller than the mega-molding machines Tesla ordered for its Texas factory and its largest Honda’s motobike. has worked with anywhere in the world, it said. Battery module assembly will also be done at the facilities, with cells manufactured at the nearby joint venture.
The production information goes along with what Honda has outlined about these upcoming electric vehicles and their upcoming platforms. In January, R&D chief Daisuke Tsutamori told Green Car Reports that these future electric cars start with a very thin and rigid battery pack — about 10% thinner than other electric cars, for more Packaging options. Honda is targeting a 300-mile range for its Zero series, which will also feature fly-by-wire technology and be ready for autonomous driving.
Honda once again emphasized that the battery plant, which targets an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours, will only supply Honda’s electric vehicle production in the US. That battery capacity is enough to power about 300,000 to 500,000 electric vehicles of that size each year. As the company emphasized, the product is about to launch widely Honda EV will not be the right car model. They also won’t be electric versions of Accords or CR-Vs.
Honda Saloon Concept – 2024 CES
Not an electric Accord or CR-V
The American-made Honda has developed electric vehicles will go on sale in 2025 and will be mid- to large-sized and built on what the automaker has so far only called “Honda’s initial dedicated EV platform.” The platform is set to bolster the electric car that could have some similarities to the Series 0 electric car first shown at CES this January — including the rakish Saloon concept, which looks like a The Accord’s sci-fi and supercar-influenced alter ego, and a Space-Hub concept could point the way for an electric minivan in the future.
Production of Sony-Honda EV, branded Afeelaalso expected to be produced in the Ohio electric vehicle hub, starting in 2026.
Although Honda has the capacity to produce several hundred thousand electric vehicles per year at this plant, it will likely be outdone at ramp-up time or shortly thereafter. Rival Hyundai is planning production 300,000 electric vehicles per year at its upcoming Georgia EV plant.
