It’s the end of an era for Honda, as the auto maker announces it’s moving production of the Accord to Indiana to make room for electric vehicle manufacturing in central Ohio.
The company announced Tuesday that it will begin producing the iconic Accord at its Indiana Auto Plant in 2025. The goal is to make room for electric vehicle production at the Marysville Auto Plant.
“MAP will begin preparing for EV production as early as January 2024, by consolidating its two production lines currently making vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and hybrid-electric vehicle systems,” a company press statement said.
“Consolidating production to one line will enable MAP to begin building the infrastructure necessary for EV production," the press release said.
A Honda spokesman said the changes are not expected to result in any layoffs.
"We expect to maintain employment stability across all locations during these key next steps in this transition," spokesman Chris Abbruzzese said in an emailed statement.
Honda has made Accords at the Marysville Auto Plant since 1982. The factory also makes Acura models.
The retooling also affects Honda’s other U.S. manufacturing operations, including the engine plant in Anna, Ohio. The press release says the plant will transfer component production for two different generations of engines to the engine plant at the Alabama Auto Plant. That will allow the Anna plant to re-allocate space for “future IPU production.”
The manufacturing shift comes as Honda partners with LG Energy Solutions on a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant near Jeffersonville, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024 and aims for approximately 40GWh of annual production capacity. The overall investment of the two companies in the JV facility is projected to reach $4.4 billion.
