Honda plans to open a new plant in central Ohio to build its Acura NSX sports car, which will be on the market within the next three years, the automaker announced Monday during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The company has already invested $8 billion in Ohio, reports the
Dayton Daily News, and says a new advanced manufacturing operation will open to produce the car.
The plant’s exact location has not been disclosed, nor has the amount of jobs it will create. Honda already employs more than 13,500 Ohioans.
“Whenever you add a new facility to build a new product like this, you’re going to be adding some new employment,” said Ron Lietzke, a spokesman for Honda of America Manufacturing.
Lietzke noted Honda hasn’t received any state tax credits for the new plant, or for another $400 million the company has spent since 2010 to upgrade its current facilities. The automaker’s Marysville plant produces the Honda Accord, Accord Coupe, Acura TL, and Acura RDX.
The decision won’t specifically impact the Marysville plant, Lietzke said, but further announcements may be made later this week that could involve that factory. Last fall, Honda renewed a second shift on one of Marysville plant production lines, resulting in about 100 jobs.
Honda’s research center, also located in Ohio, has conducted much of the development for the new car, and Lietzke said it makes sense to keep the car’s manufacture in the state.
“Our facilities here are very much capable of getting the vehicle ready for production and producing it,” he said.
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