@Honda: Honda Unifies Manufacturing Operations and R&D in North America

• Auto manufacturing operations will combine and merge with auto product development to form a new company in North America
• Auto design will become part of American Honda Regional Operations
• Auto Field Operations to be streamlined to more quickly address dealer & customer needs 
• Honda of South Carolina Mfg. to become part of American Honda Powersports Business Unit

MARYSVILLE, Ohio & TORRANCE, Calif; Nov. 6, 2020 –Honda today announced plans to combine all of its automobile manufacturing facilities in the U.S. related to frame, engine, transmission, and related engineering and purchasing operations into one new company, to be named Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, LLC (HDMA). The new company also will integrate the automobile product development operations of Honda R&D Americas, LLC (HRA). The unification of Honda’s manufacturing operations and merger with auto product development will be effective April 1, 2021. 

“Today, we are announcing a number of changes to our business operations that continue the journey we began last year, to become a more lean, nimble and unified company in North America,” said Shinji Aoyama, chief officer of North American Regional Operations of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and president & CEO of American Honda. “Each change is vital to our ongoing effort to make Honda in America stronger and more responsive to the customer, better able to invest in advanced technology, and prepared to meet future market needs.” 

In addition, with the move of auto product development functions to the new HDMA company, the automobile product design and certain market research functions currently part of the HRA Los Angeles Center will be integrated into the Regional Operations of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., based in Torrance, Calif.  

Honda will unite all auto creation functions into HDMA with a focus on achieving seamless development of new products with improved efficiency and quality, thus positioning its North American operations for the future. These changes will effectively bring all auto development, planning, purchasing, strategy and manufacturing into one company, thus strengthening what Honda calls a “one-floor” approach to the product development process.  This includes:

• Centralizing key business functions to become more efficient and eliminate redundancies;
• Executing new product development with increased speed and accuracy; and
• Improving manufacturing characteristics with a focus on quality, cost competitiveness and the ability to deliver vehicles that appeal to customers in a timely manner.

This approach is similar to restructuring that was announced in February of this year by Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in Japan, including the integration of the automobile development function of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. and key elements of Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (Honda’s production engineering company) into parent company Honda Motor’s Automobile Operations, including its Production and Purchasing Operations. 

Auto-related Honda companies to be wholly or partially consolidated into HDMA include:

・Honda of America Mfg.
・Honda Manufacturing of Alabama
・Honda Manufacturing of Indiana
・Honda Transmission Manufacturing of America 
・Honda Precision Parts of Georgia
・Honda Engineering North America
・Honda R&D Americas 
・Honda Accessory America

Separately, in a significant move related to its Auto Sales and Parts & Service Business Units, American Honda announced plans to streamline its Auto Sales and Parts & Service Field operations to enable a more agile response to local market needs. 

In January 2021, Honda and Acura zone offices will be restructured in order to improve communication between Dealers, Zone management and National Sales and Parts & Service management.  The change includes four new Regional Manager positions that have been created to provide oversight of Honda Sales, Acura Sales and Parts, Service & Technical field operations. The Regional Managers will become the key link between the company’s National and Field operations, ensuring better alignment among all staff who call on Honda and Acura dealers and pushing decision making authority down to local staff to more quickly address dealer and customer needs.

Honda companies in the U.S. responsible for Powersports business, including motorcycle, ATV and side-by-side products, began restructuring earlier this year to unite the functions of sales, manufacturing, product development and purchasing.  Today, it was announced that Honda of South Carolina Mfg., responsible for powersports manufacturing in the U.S., will formally become part of the Powersports business unit within American Honda.  This follows a similar reorganization in Japan, in 2019, when the Motorcycle Operations of Honda Motor and the Motorcycle center of Honda R&D were merged into one organization to strengthen the unity of sales, production, development and purchasing functions. 

Honda established operations in North America in 1959. Today, the company employs more than 40,000 associates in the region, engaged in the development, manufacturing, sales and service support of Honda and Acura automobiles, Honda power equipment, Honda powersports products, the HondaJet advanced light jet and GE Honda HF120 turbofan engines. 

Based on its longstanding commitment to build products close to the customer, Honda operates 19 major manufacturing plants in North America, working with more than 740 suppliers in the region to produce the diverse range of Honda products. In 2019, more than 90 percent of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts. 

Honda also operates 14 major research and development centers in North America which jointly fully design, develop and engineer many of the products the company makes in North America.