Media

Honda to Testify Before U.S. Congressional Hearing on Manufacturing Competitiveness

WASHINGTON – Apr. 10, 2013 – Honda of America Mfg., Inc. senior vice president Jim Wehrman will testify today before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade about how the growth of Honda’s U.S. production operations over the last 30 years has led to a new global lead responsibility for manufacturing. The hearing, entitled “Nation of Builders: Powering U.S. Automobile Manufacturing Forward,” will explore policies to attract manufacturing investment and maintain U.S. competitiveness.

“Honda transformed itself from being a company that imported virtually 100 percent of the vehicles it sold in the U.S., to where today more than 90 percent of the vehicles sold by Honda in the U.S. are made in North America,” said Wehrman.

Announced last year, Honda’s U.S. manufacturing operations are taking a lead role in setting benchmarks for production processes for key global models, and sharing the production know-how with other Honda plants around the world. This responsibility was previously led by operations in Japan, and thus, represents a significant sign of growth of Honda’s manufacturing operations in the U.S during the past three decades since the company became the first Asian automaker to build cars in America.

Honda has made more than $1.2 billion in new investments over the last two years to enhance and increase its manufacturing capabilities, which has created more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs. As a result, Honda will double its annual exports in the coming years from more than 90,000 in 2012. Honda marked its one millionth U.S.-produced automobile export in 2012, and within two years, Honda will become a ‘net exporter,’ meaning it will export more vehicles from North America than it imports from Japan.

Honda’s full hearing testimony is available here.

To watch the hearing webcast, click here.

Honda’s U.S. Presence – 2013 Key Facts

o   More than $14 billion in total capital investment

o   More than 28,000 associates and $2 billion in total U.S. payroll in 2012

o   90 percent of Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the U.S. are manufactured in North America

o   Nine manufacturing plants in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina

o   $22 billion in parts and materials purchases from more than 500 U.S. OEM suppliers across 34 states

o   14 R&D facilities (Honda R&D Americas, Inc. and Honda Research Institute)

o   More than 147,000 employees at 1,313 Honda and Acura, 1,055 Powersports, and 8,953 Power Equipment dealerships

o   More than $1.2 billion in new investments over the last two years, resulting in 2,040 new manufacturing jobs

About Honda

Honda established operations in America in 1959, and now employs more than 33,000 associates in its North American sales, R&D and manufacturing operations with a capital investment of more than $22 billion.

Based on its longstanding commitment to "build products close to the customer" Honda operates 14 major manufacturing facilities in North America, producing a wide range of Honda and Acura automobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, Honda all-terrain vehicles, and power equipment products such as lawn mowers, mini-tillers and general purpose engines, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

Seven Honda auto plants in the North American region, including four in the U.S., have the capacity to produce 1.63 million automobiles each year. In 2012, 90 percent of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America. This will increase to 1.92 million vehicles per year in 2014, when the sales percentage of locally produced automobiles is expected to rise to more than 95 percent.

Honda R&D Americas, Inc., (HRA) operates 14 facilities in North America and is responsible for "complete product creation," of advanced automobile, powersports and power equipment products and technologies. Since 1990, HRA has researched, designed and developed more than 20 all-new automobile models.

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For more information:

Jonathan Otto

202.661.4416

jonathan_otto@hna.honda.com

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