Honda has announced plans to shift production of the CR-V of Guadalajara in Mexico to their plant in the US. Also, the production of the new HR-V will be added to Guadalajara . Production of this model already occurs in the plant of the brand in Celaya, Mexico. Both transitions are planned for 2017.
Then the production of Honda CR-V in Indiana, at Greensburg will start, in addition to the current production of the Civic Sedan. The CR-V model will continue to occur in the East Liberty plant in Ohio, and also at Honda Canada in Alliston, near Toronto.
The Honda plant in Guadalajara Mexico currently produces the CR-V and will change its production to HR-V in 2017 to meet the demand for this Honda crossover model.
This change will establish a relationship of dual origin for the HR-V along with other Celaya largest Mexican plant. A Honda spokesman told Automotive Logistics, "The HR-V is a very successful model worldwide. To meet demand, we need to expand our production volume."
Honda has a tendency to switch models among its plants. Honda has indicated that to add new models and shift production amongst plants helps optimize capacity and meet customer needs. Last year these changes included the initial production of the new Civic, HR-V and Pilot in North America. Also they included plans to have a double origin for the Acura MDX as they added production to Ohio in early 2017, in addition to the existing production in Alabama.
Takahiro Hachigo, president and CEO of Honda said, "We have to make more efficient use of our existing capacity in North America. We are working to develop a system of auxiliary supply that meets the needs of our clients in each local market and meet the needs of our customers in other regions. "
Changing the CR-V will also logistical advantages. The CR-V assembly is already done in large volumes in the US and Canada. According to Automotive News Data Center, the Alliston plant produced more than 190,000 units of the CR-V in 2015 until November, and 164,000 units were produced in East Liberty; Guadalajara assembled 59,000 units of CR-V in the same period. The main part of the production and suppliers are located in the Midwestern United States, so the assembly in Indiana could reduce material freight to Mexico and create further consolidation amongst northern plants.
According to an interview with Automotive Logistics in the summer of 2015, Honda now sends 50 daily loads from the US and Canada to Mexico, most of which is done through intermodal transport. The change of CR-V could reduce this amount.
In addition, the HR-V supply chain will have a more concentrated supply chain in Mexico. Whether it is built in Celaya, where there were more than 90,000 units of the model produced to November 2015 and sharing also the platform of the Honda Fit. Honda also has a plant of engines and transmissions, as well as a center of intermodal transport and transshipment in Celaya, which serve as the supply chain hub for Guadalajara.
In 2015, Honda produced 1,862,491 units of Honda and Acura, a historical record of production in a single year in North America. This is an increase of 3.1% over the previous record that established by the brand in 2014. The eight Honda plants in North America produced more than 99% of the Honda and Acura cars and light trucks sold in the US last year.