Honda has filed permits for a proposed third manufacturing plant in or near Union County on about 300 acres it already owns to produce hybrid Honda and Acura vehicles, according to EPA records acquired by The Dispatch
The land, south of Rapp-Dean Road and west of Johnson Road in Liberty Township is about seven miles northwest of Marysville, just east of the Honda's Transportation Research Center, an area that already operates the Honda East Liberty Plant.
Company officials have said that EPA permits, this one for a "water quality certification," are merely "due diligence" work when considering a project and not a guarantee of construction.
Marysville Matters was the first to break the story on the proposed location.
In the EPA filing, reviewed by
The Dispatch, the project is code-named "Project Sunrise" and, if built, would employee about 3,000 workers. According to the application submitted Oct. 7, construction could begin in January 2027 and conclude by December 2029.
New plant would follow tumultuous times for electric vehicles
Honda and LG received millions in incentives to construct an electric vehicle battery plant in southwest Ohio in 2023, but that facility's purpose has been shifted with Honda's move away from EVs. The Jeffersonville facility will now convert part of its lines to produce hybrid batteries, the Dispatch previously reported.
Automotive News reported recently that a proposed Ohio plant could manufacture crossover vehicles, including the next-generation Acura MDX and two new flagship SUVs — one each for Honda and Acura.
Last month, several outlets reported that Japan's Honda Motor was in the final stages of preparations to build a new hybrid vehicle production plant in Ohio, including the Nikkei business daily.
Honda plans to invest about $1.90 billion to $2.53 billion in the new plant, expected to start production in 2030, the daily said as shared by Reuters.
A competing report from Automotive World said the new facility would have an annual capacity of around 250,000 vehicles and could start construction as soon as 2027, with production starting in 2030. That report said the deal is pending final negotiations over state subsidies and noted the facility would be built near Honda's existing Ohio operations.
What Honda is saying about new plant
Chris Abbruzzese, spokesperson for American Honda Motor Co., said in an email that no decisions have been made regarding a new plant in the United States.
"Honda has always grown our U.S. production operations steadily, using highly flexible production lines and making efficient use of existing facilities before we consider adding capacity to meet higher customer demand," he wrote. "We will continue to take a thoughtful approach to determine the best way to meet the needs of our customers."
Honda in March announced it was scrapping plans to make three electric vehicles in Ohio, but in May the company announced plans to produce more hybrid and conventional-engine vehicles in North America, including in Ohio. There are more than 14,000 Honda workers in Ohio, most in Logan and Union counties, but also in Anna in Shelby County where engines are built.
Officials at the time said the Marysville plant was versatile enough to produce two or three models at time and that pivoting to a new vehicle would not be difficult. It was unclear from the external reports whether Honda's expansion would simply be an add-on to an existing facility or a completely new production plant.
Starting in 2027, Honda will begin launching its next-generation hybrid models. The vehicles will have all-new hybrid systems and platform, Toshihiro Mibe, director, president and representative executive officer of Honda, said in remarks from Tokyo in May.
By the end of 2030, Honda is planning to launch 15 of these next-generation hybrid models globally, primarily focused in North America, which is a priority region, according to Mibe. The lineup will include large-size hybrid models.
Multiple agencies, including JobsOhio, the Columbus Partnership and Gov. Mike DeWine's office, referred any comment on Honda's Ohio expansion to the car maker.
Growth and development reporter Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Marysville possible home of new Honda plant, per Ohio EPA filing
