Honda Motor unveiled yesterday plans for a big expansion with new factories in Japan and North America to meet record sales as Asian vehicle makers step up the pressure on embattled US rivals.
Honda said it would spend at least US$1.34bil on new plants and development facilities by 2010 to advance its fuel-efficient vehicles, which were growing popular as high petroleum prices dent demand for gas guzzlers.
The group planned to boost annual global sales to more than 4.5 million motor vehicles by 2010, up from a record 3.4 million in the financial year just ended, chief executive Takeo Fukui said in a speech.
Honda would build a new plant in Saitama prefecture, just north of Tokyo, at a cost of about 70 billion yen (US$640mil), he announced.
The new plant, staffed by 2,200 people, will begin producing engines and finished vehicles from 2010, lifting Honda's total annual production capacity in Japan to 1.5 million vehicles from 1.3 million previously.
Honda will also renovate an existing plant nearby and build a new research and development centre in central Tochigi Prefecture at a cost of some 17 billion yen (US$155mil).
The vehicle maker also plans to spend about US$400mil to open a new factory in the United States by 2008.
The new plant will boost Honda's annual capacity in North America to 1.6 million vehicles from 1.4 million.
In Canada, Honda plans to spend US$140mil building a new plant producing 200,000 engines a year from 2008 and employing 340 people.
The company also aims to double production capacity of its vehicle plant in Brazil by 2008 while a new factory in China is due to open later this year.
Japanese vehicle makers are enjoying brisk sales, particularly overseas, even as US giants General Motors and Ford shut plants and reduce capacity in an effort to return to profitability. – AFP
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