Honda Invests $3 Billion in Ohio Hybrid Plant, New Models, and Engines

Honda has said it plans to overhaul and upgrade its global portfolio of hybrids with new models riding on new platforms and propelled by new drive units (the electrified portions of a hybrid powertrain), starting in 2027.

Now the automaker is putting its money behind the promises of new models, four-cylinder and V-6 engines, drive units, and battery packs and detailing how that will unfold in the U.S.

Honda announced it will spend $3 billion on a new vehicle assembly plant in Ohio to make more hybrids, including their engines and hybrid electric systems, in the U.S. Hybrid powertrain production in Ohio will increase by a whopping 250 percent with the capability to make virtually model a hybrid. Plants in Alabama and Georgia will also be retooled to support the new models coming. The move reflects the fact that many of Honda’s popular models do not offer a hybrid option but when they do, the take rate is as high as 50 percent. The automaker has also canceled and delayed planned electric vehicles, a move that forced Honda to take a $15.7 billion write-down.

New Honda and Acura Models on New Platforms Coming

There are multiple new models for the Honda and Acura brands, many of them hybrids, under development. Honda is working on a new midsize platform for the next-generation Honda CR-V, Accord, Civic, and Prelude. Honda is also prepping a new large-size platform and new V-6 engine and hybrid system with three motors for its D-segment SUVs and trucks, which include the Honda Passport, Pilot, Odyssey minivan, third-generation Ridgeline expected to return in 2028, and Acura MDX. Many of the new models will be hybrids.

The plant is designed to make multiple models on a single line, said Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda Motor. And there are new nameplates in the works for the Acura and Honda brands. Honda did not specify which ones will come out of the new plant but timing is right for the next-generation Acura MDX crossover due in 2030, according to Automotive News. The platform is also expected to yield three-row crossovers for both brands, positioned above the Pilot and MDX.

Honda says it is committed to offering multiple vehicle types (cars, SUVs, pickups) with gasoline engines, hybrid systems, and pure EVs across its many facilities in North America but the new plant feeds a need for more hybrids as consumers want better efficiency and less dependence on gas prices but are still slow to migrate to full EVs. As a state-of-the-art facility, the new plant will be flexible enough to build different models with assorted powertrains in the future as needed.

More Jobs and Capacity

The new plant will create more than 2,000 jobs in Ohio, making an additional 240,000 vehicles a year, starting in 2029. When the new plant comes online, Honda’s U.S. auto production capacity will be about 1.3 million vehicles a year.

The new plant becomes the fourth facility in the Honda manufacturing hub in the Marysville, Ohio area. There is also a development center, research center, battery joint venture and supply base.

The Honda Transmission Plant-Ohio has begun retooling to make the next-generation hybrid systems for compact and midsize vehicles, as well as larger models. The plant currently makes the two-motor hybrid system in the CR-V, Accord, and Civic. It is gearing up to make the next-generation hybrid system next year. The new hybrid system for larger models is expected by 2030.

More Honda Passports and a New V-6

Honda is also investing in its plants in Alabama and Georgia. The Alabama Auto Plant will retool to increase vehicle production and give it the flexibility to make multiple models on the same line. Assembly Line 1 will be retooled to add the Honda Passport which is currently only made on Line 2. The Passport is popular and could be more so if a hybrid version were added. The engine facility in Alabama will get new equipment to make the new V-6 engine and expand total capacity.

The Anna Engine plant in Ohio, which is the automaker’s largest engine plant in the world, will get a major retooling of its production line to make Honda’s next-generation four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle engine for future compact and midsize vehicles built in North America.

Honda will also add a parts consolidation center that should be ready to improve logistics starting next year when it opens.

The Honda Transmission Plant-Georgia will also switch to next-generation hybrid systems for larger vehicles in the coming years, supplementing the systems coming out of the Ohio transmission plant. The Georgia plant currently makes the 10-speed automatic transmission for Honda and Acura models.

The investment comes in the wake of tariffs creating chaos for production plans. Honda had planned to build an $11 billion EV production hub in Ontario but changed those plans amid the uncertainty of U.S. politics, policies, and tariffs and consumer demand for electric vehicles.

Nelson said while tariffs are a factor, the true impetus for the expansion is that 99 percent of the vehicles Honda sells in North America are built in North America and even with the plants running flat out, inventories are low and dealers cannot always get the vehicles they need. Honda needs the extra capacity and he is not worried that a number of automakers are adding capacity in the U.S. even though sales are flat.