Nikkei "Honda Considering Local Production Increase to Respond to US Tariffs"

Transfer of Production Volume from Canada and Mexico

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, is reportedly considering increasing production of its main models in the United States to supply about 90% of its local sales in response to U.S. tariff measures.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 15th, Honda sells approximately 1.42 million vehicles annually in the U.S. Of these, about 1 million are produced locally. If production is increased by 30% of the sales volume, about 90% of total U.S. sales can be sourced domestically.

Nikkei explained that Honda may promote the increase by transferring production currently exported from Mexico and Canada to the U.S. over a period of 2 to 3 years.

About 300,000 units of Honda's exports to the U.S. are produced in Canada. Representative models include the sport utility vehicle (SUV) CR-V and the sedan Civic.

A Honda Civic model displayed at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit, Michigan, USA, in 2019. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.

Nikkei stated, "Both models are also produced at U.S. plants, so measures such as increasing work shifts are being considered." It added, "More automakers are considering such production transfers."

In fact, Nissan Motor of Japan is reportedly considering switching some of the production of its SUV model (Rogue) from Japan to local production in the U.S.