Honda Breaks Ground in Mexico

By Logan Utsman on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Sometime in 2014, North American Honda Fits will have a new place to call home and it will be located in the heart of Mexico. Placed rather close to Celaya, Guanajuato, construction of the all-new assembly plant is currently underway and already planning for the future. Once the plant gets into its grove, its estimated annual production capacity will stand at 200,000 units which will be made possible by more than 3,200 new employees. The facility is being brought to live via a $800 million investment but should increase overall North American annual production to 1.87 million vehicles, ultimately lowering export costs.

“Last year, more than 85 percent of the Honda and Acura models sold in America were built in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, using domestic and globally sourced parts, and this will reach more than 90 percent in the coming years,” said Rick Schostek, Senior Vice President for Honda of America Mfg. Taking up 5.66 million square meters, the new plant will first get its start producing Fit subcompacts. The car will be distributed on a truly global level but its main destinations will be Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Both the vehicle and its engine will be made in Celaya facility in order to keep importation and shipping costs down. Once its working, it will join the 10 other Honda assembly plants housed inside North America.

“Considering the needs of the Mexican market, which is expecting continued growth in the future, and also serving as a global production base for the North American region and beyond, we decided to make the Fit the first product to be produced here,” said Honda Motor Company CEO, Takanobu Ito.

Source: Honda

Gallery

2012 Honda Fit Sport Pictures