Honda Celebrates 20 Millionth Vehicle Produced in Ohio
Honda is celebrating the production of the company’s 20 millionth vehicle in Ohio, a state that is home to three Honda manufacturing plants, including the automaker’s first in America.
The Marysville Auto Plant initially represented a $35 million investment in 1979 to build motorcycles. Three years later it began producing cars, and since then has become the cornerstone of Honda manufacturing in the United States, and part of the $13 billion the automaker has now invested in its Ohio facilities.
That’s more than half of the total $21 billion that Honda has invested in the U.S. over the years, which includes auto plants in Alabama and Indiana — and nearly three quarters of the 27.3 million vehicles that Honda has produced in its U.S. history.
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It’s therefore suitable that it was at the Marysville plant where the 20 millionth Ohio-built Honda rolled off the production line, a 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid dressed in Platinum White Pearl. It was the 13,886,774th vehicle the plant had produced, with the East Liberty Auto Plant adding another 6,110,582 to the tally and Honda’s Performance Manufacturing Center contributing the final 2,674.
Since 1979, almost all of Honda’s most popular models have been built in Ohio, including the Accord, Civic, CR-V, and even the latest-generation Acura NSX supercar. Honda also builds engines and transmissions in Ohio, which are used for assembly elsewhere. And while it took 22 years for Honda to build its first 10 million vehicles in Ohio, it was only another 16 before it got to the 20 millionth vehicle. Expect the next milestone to arrive even quicker.
“Honda associates in Ohio have played a significant role in our U.S. operations, and today we celebrate the production of 20 million high quality cars and light trucks for our customers in Ohio, America and around the world,” said Mitsugu Matsukawa, president of Honda of America Mfg. “This milestone not only showcases the success of our products, but the dedication, capability and collaboration of our 15,000 Honda associates in Ohio.”
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Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.