Honda to produce more cars, fewer minivans, SUVs in U.S.

Honda Motor Co. said today it is boosting U.S. production of its Honda Accord while cutting production of its Odyssey minivans and Pilot sport-utility vehicles.

Honda said it is transferring most of its V6 Accord assembly from its plant in Marysville, Ohio, to its plant in Lincoln, Ala., where it has cut minivan and SUV production by 10,000 units this year. After moving most V6 Accord production to Alabama, Honda will boost production of four-cylinder Accords in Marysville, and plans to cut Odyssey and Pilot production there by an additional 22,000 units.

“We are trying to use our plant flexibility to minimize the effects of the market going down and satisfy our customers’ desire for more cars and fewer trucks,” said Honda spokesman Ed Miller.

The production shifts won’t result in an increase in availability of the Accord in the United States — Honda will import fewer from Japan — but does mean that Honda will make a higher percentage of Accords in the United States.

At its plant in Lincoln, Ala., Honda will cut production of the Pilot by 8,000 units, or 32%, in November, and again in the first quarter by about 14,000 units, spokesman Ed Miller said. Taken with an earlier announced reduction, the company will have cut output of the vehicle by 11% from the beginning of August to the end of March next year.

At the same time, Honda plans to begin making V-6-powered Accord sedans at the Alabama plant and increasing production of four-cylinder Accords at its factory in Ohio, the company said in a statement.

The move helps to soak up production of V-6 engines at the plant and move them into a smaller vehicle. As a result, the company expects to substantially reduce imports from Japan, according to Mr. Miller.

During the summer as the U.S. domestic auto makers saw sales shrink substantially, Honda showed resistance, but in September, the Japanese auto maker succumbed to weak demand with a 24% contraction in sales. The measures announced Monday are to adjust to the softer sales environment, according to Miller.

Even so, Honda’s sales in the U.S. are down only 1.1% compared with a 10% drop in sales at Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp. and much larger annual declines by Detroit’s Big Three.

Honda has been helped by its investments in a flexible manufacturing system at its North American plants that helps the company adjust to shifts in market demand more quickly than its competitors. Now, Honda will produce cars as well as larger vehicles such as the Pilot and the Ridgeline pickup side-by-side at the Alabama plant.

Last week, Honda began mass production at its newest North American factory in Greensburg, Ind., where it will be able to make 200,000 Civics at full capacity. It also opened a new four-cylinder engine plant in Ontario, Canada, last month, to mirror the new plant in Indiana.

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