DETROIT, May 7 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co. Ltd. stepped up its assault on the U.S. light truck market on Friday, inaugurating a second assembly line at its plant in Lincoln, Alabama.
The new line will double production capacity at the plant to an annual total of 300,000 vehicles and boost Honda's total North American capacity to more than 1.2 million units a year, company officials said.
Since it opened in November 2001, the Lincoln facility has been cranking out Odyssey minivans and their V-6 engines. But the plant's second assembly line has been earmarked for production of the mid-sized Honda Pilot sport utility vehicle, at least initially.
The SUV, and a new pickup truck that Honda is due to start producing next year in Alliston, Ontario, are crucial to the Japanese automaker's efforts to grab more U.S. market share in a segment considered the last bastion of profits for Detroit's traditional Big Three.
Honda President and Chief Executive Takeo Fukui was on hand for Friday's dedication of the new assembly line and said it built on a foundation that began in Ohio, with the opening of Honda's first U.S. production facility in 1979.
"Twenty-five years ago, we planted a seed in Ohio. Today, several beautiful trees grow in Alabama," he said.