Honda's New Ohio Plant: $3 Billion, 2,000 Jobs, Hybrids by 2029

Honda has been building cars in Marysville, Ohio, since 1982. On Monday it went back to the same corner of the state to announce the biggest bet it has made there in years: a $3 billion assembly plant that will mostly build hybrids.

Bob Nelson, executive vice president of American Honda, made the announcement at the company's U.S. heritage center in Ohio. "This is not simply an investment in another plant," he said, according to CNBC. "It is an investment in the future of Honda manufacturing in America."

Honda's new Ohio plant: the numbers

Here is what Honda committed to in its Nov. 9 announcement:

The 1.3 million figure is the one analysts will watch. Honda's North American network, including Canada and Mexico, would climb to roughly 1.9 million vehicles a year.

Where the Honda Ohio plant will be built

The plant goes on land between Honda's East Liberty Auto Plant and its Marysville Auto Plant. Honda did not name a township or give a groundbreaking date.

It will be Honda's fourth auto plant in Ohio and its ninth auto-related production site in the country. It is also the company's first new mass-production U.S. vehicle assembly plant since its Indiana factory opened in 2008, CNBC reported.

Honda gave a fairly specific list of reasons for picking Ohio over other states. It already has engine, transmission and vehicle plants there. Much of its U.S. supplier base is close by. Its North American Automotive Development Center and the Transportation Research Center test track are next door. And the L-H Battery joint venture plant, which Honda says can make cells for hybrids and full EVs, is in the same region.

Why Honda is betting on hybrids now

Two years ago, the industry talk was all about electric cars. Honda's plans have swung hard since then.

In May, Honda indefinitely suspended an $11 billion plan to build EVs and batteries in Canada and canceled three electric models planned for the U.S., CNBC noted. That same month, it said it would launch 15 new Honda and Acura hybrid models worldwide by 2030, with North America as the main market for many of them.

Demand explains a lot of that. Honda's Ohio transmission plant already makes the two-motor hybrid system for U.S.-built CR-V, Accord and Civic models, and the company says it needs more room to build cars like them. Jennifer Thomas, a senior vice president at American Honda, said in Detroit on Oct. 27 that the company was "at capacity" in the U.S. and "exploring all options." Fuel costs aren't hurting the hybrid pitch either. The national average for regular gas only just dipped back below $4 a gallon this weekend.

Even so, the new plant isn't hybrid-only. Honda says it will be able to switch among hybrid, gas and electric models as demand and market conditions shift. That flexibility is a hedge, and Honda more or less says so.

Tariffs are part of the story

Automakers have been moving more production into the U.S. to cope with President Trump's tariffs and higher shipping costs, CNBC reported. Honda's timing also lines up with a trade fight next door. Trump has threatened to double tariffs on Canadian vehicles and parts, from 25% to 50%, on Jan. 1 if the U.S. and Canada don't reach a new deal. Thomas called a no-deal outcome potentially "catastrophic" for the industry.

Honda is not alone here. Audi said about two weeks ago it would spend more than $4 billion on its first U.S. factory, in Georgia, and GM, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai have all announced big U.S. plant spending recently.

What else Honda is spending on

The $3 billion plant is the headline, but Honda also listed upgrades at other U.S. sites:

• Honda Transmission Plant-Ohio: an existing transmission line is being turned into a second hybrid-system line, raising hybrid system capacity by 250%. A next-generation hybrid system starts production there next year.
• Anna Engine Plant, Ohio: retooling to build a new four-cylinder engine for future compact and midsize models, plus a parts consolidation center expected to open next year.
• Alabama Auto Plant: new equipment for a V6 hybrid engine and the biggest overhaul of Line 1 since 2001, so both lines can build the Passport.
• Honda Transmission Plant-Georgia: a new line to make hybrid systems for larger vehicles in the coming years.

Honda's plant in Alliston, Ontario, will be retooled as well, including a return of engine production there. Honda did not attach dollar figures to these other projects.

What it means for Ohio workers and buyers

For central Ohio, 2,000-plus jobs is a large number on top of a workforce Honda already counts at more than 30,000 people across the U.S. Hiring for the line itself is still years away, since production isn't due until 2029, and state incentives or approvals still have to be finalized.

Car shoppers won't see a difference soon. The more practical effect, over time, is more U.S.-built hybrids, which could make it easier for Honda to keep hybrid models in stock. Honda says nearly 99% of the Honda and Acura vehicles it sold in the U.S. in 2025 were made in North America, and CNBC put the U.S.-built share at more than 60%.

Honda hasn't said which models the new plant will build. That's likely the next announcement worth waiting for.