Honda to double exports from US

DETROIT - Agence France Presse

This photo shows the Acura NSX concept car manufactured by Honda Motor following its introduction at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Honda is ramping up production in the US and expects to double its US-made vehicle exports. AFP photo

Honda Motor is ramping up production in the United States and expects to double its U.S.-made vehicle exports in the next few years, a senior Honda official said.

Honda will export about 100,000 units this year to markets in Europe, South America and Asia, said Rick Schostek, senior vice president of Honda of America Manufacturing.

“That number will double in the next couple of years,” he said at an Automotive Press Association event in Detroit. In 2011, Honda’s operations in the U.S. exported 53,000 units outside North America, he said.

Schostek announced that Honda will invest $40 million in an Indiana plant to increase annual production capacity by 50,000 units, to a total of 250,000 vehicles. The Greensburg, Indiana-based plant will hire roughly 300 new workers later this year in preparation for the increased production that will start early next year, he said.

Separately, Honda said yesterday it is recalling more than 320,000 vehicles worldwide because of a door lock defect. The faulty locks could allow the vehicles’ doors to open unexpectedly, the automaker said.