Honda's first in-house EV starts production in 2025

Construction of Honda's $4.4 billion electric vehicle and battery hub in Ohio is on track to begin vehicle and battery assembly in 2025.

The Japanese automaker is spending $700 million to retool three plants to produce EVs and EV components, and is building a battery factory from the ground up as part of a $3.5 billion joint venture with LG Energy Solution. The new EV hub, northwest of Columbus, Ohio, will create 300 jobs.

At a time when some automakers are slowing their EV development programs, Honda has several EV projects underway. Localizing EV production in North America is a crucial consideration for automakers as the market continues to develop.

Honda has been slower than some car companies to introduce EVs in the U.S. It has instead added hybrid variants to its high-volume products, a technology, it says, mainstream consumers are more willing to adopt.

Company officials also say Honda will lean on profits from gasoline and hybrid vehicle sales to channel funds back into developing EVs and other technologies, and that 2025 is the year when Honda will kick its EV effort into high gear.

Honda's goal is to reach 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales globally by 2040, which includes battery-electric and fuel cell EVs. The EV hub in Ohio, the company said, is the first step and will set the standards for production globally and in North America.

"Our mission is to begin building original Honda and Acura battery-electric vehicles in North America to meet the needs of our customers and our goal of achieving carbon neutrality for our products and operations by 2050," Bob Nelson, executive vice president, American Honda Motor Co., told reporters on a press call.

Nelson said Honda's EV production in Ohio, where its gasoline engine vehicle manufacturing and engineering reside, is part of a "comprehensive approach to the development of the vehicle, the production system and the purchasing structure."

The battery joint venture, called L-H Battery, will have annual capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours. The batteries will power the EVs to be assembled at Marysville Auto Plant, Honda's first car factory, and East Liberty Auto Plant. Anna Engine Plant will build what Honda calls intelligent power unit cases to house the EV battery and serve as part of the vehicle platform.

Early EV sales in the U.S. have been driven mostly by wealthier consumers, while the next major growth area is expected to be mainstream middle-class buyers.

North American assembly of EVs, their batteries and components is required for eligibility of a $7,500 federal tax credit. The materials the battery uses also must be sourced from a country with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement in place.

That federal incentive significantly lowers the cost of expensive EVs, making the pricey purchase more palatable for everyday car shoppers. Automakers are continuing to work on lighter, more energy-dense batteries, which will also reduce EV pricing.

Nelson said that building vehicles where they sell is a longtime philosophy of Honda, and its new EV hub is no exception.

He declined to say whether Honda's e:Architecture EVs will qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit but did say the company is "building its supply chain to be competitive in the class."

Marysville Auto Plant will be the first plant to come online. It now produces the Honda Accord and Accord hybrid and Acura Integra and TLX. To make room for the EVs it plans to build there, Honda will relocate the Accord to its plant in Greensburg, Ind.

Honda used its normal December shutdown period to consolidate its existing two lines into one, which will build internal combustion engine vehicles and EVs. Part of the construction includes creating extra space for subassembly of the intelligent power unit cases and line-side parts delivery, as well as staging for both ICE vehicle and EV components. Honda added six 6,000-ton die cast machines at Anna Engine Plant, the largest it has ever used, to construct the battery cases.

Marysville Auto Plant's annual capacity totals 220,000 vehicles following the line consolidation. Nelson declined to say how many EVs Honda plans to produce there, but confirmed the plant can build "hundreds per day." Building gasoline-powered vehicles and EVs on the same line will give Honda the flexibility to align with the ebb and flow of consumer demand for EVs, he said.

L-H Battery will start battery trial production in late 2024, Nelson said, with the timing aligned with the Marysville-built EVs. Eventually, Marysville will assemble only EVs.

East Liberty Plant, which now builds the Acura MDX and RDX and Honda CR-V and CR-V hybrid, is undergoing two expansions, including reinforcement of its overhead conveyors to support the heavier vehicles. It will be the second assembly plant to come online. East Liberty will also build EVs and gasoline-powered vehicles simultaneously until it evolves into an all-EV factory.

The automaker has two EV models expected to go on sale this spring — the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX. Both are midsize crossovers being built at General Motors plants, and both use GM's Ultium battery-electric platform.

The ZDX is being assembled at GM's plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., while the Prologue will come from GM's factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Honda said Prologues have already started shipping to dealers, but the on-sale date is still to be determined.

The first vehicle to emerge from Honda's Ohio EV hub will be the first to ride on the company's e:Architecture. It's expected to be a mid- to large-size electric crossover for the North American market. The second EV from Honda's dedicated in-house platform could come in the form of a compact crossover in 2026, following an Acura counterpart of the same size.

Also expected in 2026 is an electric sedan from the new brand Afeela, part of a joint venture between Honda and Sony Corp. That EV will use Honda's e:Architecture platform, but the venture — called Sony Honda Mobility, which operates independently of Honda Motor Co. — has not specified where it will be built or how it will be sold.

At CES in January, Honda said it is launching a new global line of dedicated EVs called the Honda 0 Series, starting with a sedan in 2026. Honda showed two concepts representative of the new line — the Saloon and Space-Hub — that will guide the automaker's design and engineering approach for the production vehicles.