Automotive News - March 17, 2008 - (Page 22)

22 • MARCH 17, 2008 Honda keeps adding plants Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com Canada light-vehicle sales, February & 2 months Canada sales by model available online at: www.autonews.com/datacenter Feb. 2008 Feb. 2007 2 mos. 2008 2 mos. 2007 TOKYO — Honda’s global building binge is speeding up, with a plan to spend nearly $500 million on an assembly plant for minicars in southwestern Japan. Honda Motor Co.’s minicar subsidiary, Yachiyo Industry Co., will begin making engines at the new plant in the first half of next year and roll out its first vehicles in 2010, Honda said last week. The move comes amid soaring demand for fuel-efficient Hondas as drivers react to high gasoline prices. In response, Honda has embarked on a worldwide factory-building drive. The aim: Boost global capacity to 4.6 million vehicles by 2010, from 4.05 million last year. Honda says it will invest ¥50 billion ($489.1 million at current exchange rates) in the Japanese plant. The plant will be built next to an existing minicar plant in Yokkaichi. Currently, engines and transmissions for that plant are manufactured elsewhere. Minicars are unique to Japan and are limited by law to certain dimensions and to engines no bigger than 660cc. The pint-sized rides, instantly recognizable because of their boxy build and tiny wheels, account for about a third of all new-car sales in Japan. Japan’s best-selling car is the Wagon R, a minicar produced by Suzuki. The growth under way at Honda includes new assembly plants in Argentina, the United States, India and Thailand. Honda also is constructing another Japanese assembly plant for full-sized cars in Saitama, just north of Tokyo, and plans to renovate a nearby factory. Honda also is building engine plants in Canada and Japan, and expanding capacity at its factory in Brazil to meet growing demand in Latin America. c BMW division (D/I) Mini (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) BMW (D/I) Chrysler Division (D/I) Dodge Jeep Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) CHRYSLER LLC† Maybach (I) Mercedes-Benz (D/I) Smart (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) DAIMLER AG† FERRARI (I) Ford division Lincoln Mercury Jaguar (I) Land Rover (I) Volvo (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) FORD MOTOR CO. (D/I) Buick Cadillac Chevrolet (D/I) GMC Hummer Oldsmobile Pontiac Saab (D/I) Saturn Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) GENERAL MOTORS (D/I) Acura (D/I) Honda Division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) HONDA (D/I) Hyundai division (D/I) Kia (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) HYUNDAI-KIA (D/I) MASERATI (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) MAZDA (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) MITSUBISHI (D/I) Infiniti (D/I) Nissan Division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) NISSAN (D/I) Total car (I) Total truck (I) PORSCHE (I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D) SUBARU (D/I) Total car (I) Total truck (D/I) SUZUKI (D/I) Lexus (D/I) Toyota Division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) TOYOTA MOTOR (D/I) Audi (I) Bentley (I) Volkswagen division (D/I) Total car (D/I) Total truck (D/I) VOLKSWAGEN AG (D/I) Domestic car Import car Total car Domestic truck Import truck Total truck TOTAL CANADA 1,149 244 961 432 1,393 2,668 9,976 3,807 4,338 12,113 16,451 1 1,195 194 1,074 316 1,390 9 13,671 341 7 41 194 457 3,646 11,065 14,711 1,214 547 12,669 3,814 61 – 6,800 59 1,204 13,187 13,181 26,368 1,437 10,632 8,575 3,494 12,069 5,326 2,195 4,285 3,236 7,521 16 3,445 2,365 5,810 897 576 1,473 516 4,881 3,297 2,100 5,397 69 57 126 1,047 121 1,168 553 151 704 822 12,776 9,003 4,595 13,598 580 6 2,311 2,759 138 2,897 37,495 19,666 57,161 45,073 8,867 53,940 111,101 1,377 221 1,072 526 1,598 1,936 10,627 2,995 4,197 11,361 15,558 – 984 94 824 254 1,078 10 13,065 378 18 61 150 502 3,717 10,457 14,174 715 596 10,952 3,996 96 – 5,329 103 1,293 10,001 13,079 23,080 1,117 6,938 5,352 2,703 8,055 4,952 1,892 3,558 3,286 6,844 5 3,549 1,618 5,167 404 521 925 445 4,846 3,380 1,911 5,291 83 21 104 985 62 1,047 365 255 620 801 9,970 7,296 3,475 10,771 480 14 2,240 2,605 129 2,734 31,201 16,202 47,403 41,992 7,666 49,658 97,061 2,251 401 1,810 842 2,652 5,906 20,078 7,394 9,515 23,863 33,378 1 2,263 430 2,151 543 2,694 18 26,043 668 16 77 398 958 6,944 21,216 28,160 2,256 1,092 24,735 7,925 161 – 14,212 164 2,332 26,181 26,696 52,877 2,925 21,166 16,578 7,513 24,091 9,200 4,003 7,078 6,125 13,203 20 6,332 4,210 10,542 1,475 1,005 2,480 1,054 9,417 6,374 4,097 10,471 117 132 249 2,127 243 2,370 949 332 1,281 1,728 22,429 15,655 8,502 24,157 1,153 21 4,234 5,134 274 5,408 72,491 35,967 108,458 88,778 16,815 105,593 214,051 2,389 375 1,850 914 2,764 4,902 21,221 5,955 9,068 23,010 32,078 – 1,840 178 1,535 483 2,018 20 24,225 792 29 106 316 1,073 7,183 19,358 26,541 1,368 1,156 21,743 8,159 203 – 10,205 229 2,447 19,045 26,465 45,510 2,278 12,910 9,839 5,349 15,188 8,702 3,396 6,037 6,061 12,098 12 6,695 2,946 9,641 840 1,004 1,844 894 9,586 6,749 3,731 10,480 147 76 223 2,032 104 2,136 722 468 1,190 1,602 19,337 14,132 6,807 20,939 938 27 4,603 5,309 259 5,568 60,363 30,852 91,215 82,348 14,687 97,035 188,250 †DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007; Chrysler LLC and Daimler AG totals through July 2007 are extracted from DaimlerChrysler. *Estimate Note: (D) = produced in North America; (I) = imported to Canada; vehicles are domestic unless noted Source: Automotive News Data Center and Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada Canada sales up 14.5% in Feb. Sales of cars and light trucks in Canada totaled 111,101 units in February, up 14.5 percent from February 2007. For the first two months of this year, sales were up 13.7 percent over 2007 to 214,051. General Motors again was the Canadian sales leader. GM sales rose 14.2 percent to 26,383 vehicles in February. The automaker’s car sales climbed 31.9 percent, but truck sales edged up just 0.8 percent. Chrysler LLC’s sales rose 5.7 percent to 16,451 vehicles in February. Ford Motor Co. came in third for the month with sales of 14,711 units, up 3.8 percent. Ford car sales fell 1.9 percent to 3,646. Its truck sales rose 5.8 percent to 11,065. — Bernadine Williams http://www.autonews.com/datacenter http://www.creditacceptance.com http://www.creditacceptance.com http://www.cardonegroup.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - March 17, 2008

Leases grow as alternative to long loans Toyota dealers balk at upgrades Up for grabs: China importer Testing Chevy's Camaro Escalade first vehicle to get full LED headlamps Hoops fans take a shot at China Toyota will cut Tundra, Sequoia production F-150's risk-reward strategy: Ramp up before the revamp As UAW, American Axle talk, CEO Dauch in Fla. Ex-GM purchasing executive indicted Court allows higher Plastech credit line Saab sticker prices rise as sales fall; will U.S.-built 9-7X offset losses? VW plant capacity in U.S.: 250,000 units Bad cruise control switch haunts Ford Continental plans to bring r&d in-house Rieter expects to increase its global footprint Stadler: Audi considers U.S. plant Another General charges into electric cars Toyota sees its first checkered flag as sign NASCAR's paying off A pickup may figure in Kia's future Analysts: Lampert no threat to AutoNation More likely to be spent to keep suppliers alive in '08 2 suppliers plan Alabama plants UAW seeks job guarantees to end American Axle strike Revolving door continues to spin at Nissan GM, top marketers to share research Electric power steering is grabbing the wheel Delphi completes sale of interiors unit to Renco Mercedes again is true-luxury king How electric power steering works It's time for dealer-factory collaboration Ford must close stores but remain open to diversity The small print Here's a question for Obama, Clinton Didn't you ever hear of a halo? Hurray for affordable performance cars Politics can age a car overnight Good for planet, good for GM What 'scientific consensus'? Lutz may be right but said it wrong Lutz had the courage to tell the truth Big Apple isn't very green 23 finalists in running for PACE honors Canada sales up 14.5% in Feb. RV shipments drop 7.1% in Jan. Wagoner: No sure thing on state air rules Conquest sales, Asia growth boost ADP Brockman: Reynolds focuses on service OEConnection links to ADP Geneva goings-on Judge: Dealer suit over transfer of GM franchise can proceed Honda will build Ridgeline in Alabama So who's running the show at Chamco? GM seeks Plastech tooling Federal-Mogul reports gains Chrysler sells plant to Fiat BMW's new sales boss Odell is named COO at Ford of Europe Strike dents GM truck output Tony Stewart blows a gasket Illingworth leaving — and staying with — Toyota A note to eager auto execs: Invaders sometimes get icy reception in Russia Hush, hush: Baby Nason on board For rent: Ford's PAG palace on the West Coast Chrysler cuts Calif. studio

Automotive News - March 17, 2008

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