Honda Refutes Report of Production Shift From Canada to the US

Honda employees work along the vehicle assembly line in Alliston, Ont., on April 25, 2024. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

Honda Canada says a media report suggesting the automaker may transfer some of its production from Canada to the United States is inaccurate.

Japan’s Nikkei financial newspaper ran a story April 15 that Honda intends to relocate a significant portion of its Canadian CR-V and Civic manufacturing from its plant in Alliston, Ont., to the United States. The move, the report said, is a bid to increase the percentage of vehicles produced domestically to 90 percent of U.S. sales, a rise from the current figure of approximately 70 percent.

Honda Canada released a statement April 15 to refute the article, saying its Alliston facility will “operate at full capacity for the foreseeable future.” Honda’s facility in Alliston employs approximately 4,200 workers and manufactured roughly 375,000 vehicles in Canada in 2023.

“No changes are being considered at this time,” the company said, noting that domestic sales are up 9 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on April 3 on all imported vehicles, including those manufactured in Canada, but ordered a partial carve-out for vehicles built under the provisions of North America’s free trade agreement. In response, Ottawa put similar tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles bound for Canada.

Honda said it is able to adapt to market changes because of a “flexible” North American and local manufacturing approach.

“Approximately 69 percent of all Honda vehicles sold in Canada are built in Canada, and 99 percent of vehicles sold here are sourced from North American facilities,” the company said, adding that it can make changes as needed based on the market.

One of those changes is “coordinated production shifts to specific models built at each facility, bound for various regions and potentially new markets, depending on customer demand,” the company said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters on April 15 that recent discussions with Honda confirmed that while the company wants to grow its U.S. production, it will not do so at the expense of manufacturing in Canada.

“It’s not accurate at all,” Ford said of the Nikkei report, adding that he is “going to keep Honda here” and “do everything I can to protect the people and their jobs.”

Federal Industry Minister Anita Anand has also refuted the Japanese media report.

“We are aware of the unconfirmed reports of future changes to Honda’s production plans for Canada,” she wrote in an April 15 social media post. “I am in close contact with the company, and Honda has communicated that no such production decisions affecting Canadian operations have been made, and are not being considered at this time.”

Anand said she has a meeting scheduled today with Honda Canada’s CEO to discuss the matter further.

Honda committed $15 billion to its Canadian operations last year with the goal of establishing an electric vehicle supply chain in Ontario. This initiative, which is backed by as much as $5 billion in government funding, involves the construction of an electric vehicle battery facility adjacent to its current plant in Alliston.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.