We Can Do It

Honda of America Mfg. Inc. flexes its manufacturing muscle with the announcement of plans to shift some Accord sedan production early next year from its Marysville, OH, plant to the nearby East Liberty, OH, facility.

The move is designed to establish a more nimble manufacturing arm that can respond more quickly to market demands.

“We can do it, so we will do it,” says a HAM spokesperson.

The Marysville Auto Plant has built the Accord since it began production in November 1982 and currently produces both the sedan and coupe iterations as well as the Accord-based Acura TL.

All models will continue to be made at Marysville, but increasing demand for the TL, sales of which rose 57.6% in February to 6,274 units, make it favorable to shift some Accord production to its sister plant. Also, Accord output has climbed steadily the past few years: from 336,231 units in 2002 to 389,406 last year.

The Honda Civic, built at the East Liberty Auto Plant alongside the Element cross/utility vehicle, isn't doing as well.

Although tallies for February were encouraging: 23,985, up 27.2% year-on-year, for the model year that began Oct. 1, Civic sales are down 4.9% to 91,402 units.

The Accord sedans will be added to the same line as Civic and Element — a benefit of Honda's flexible New Manufacturing System, which facilitates building multiple platforms on a single line.

The capacity at East Liberty will remain at 240,000 units annually. Last year, East Liberty built 147,564 Civics and 84,280 Elements.