Honda to make 90% of US sales locally by relocating Mexico, Canada production, Nikkei reports

[TOKYO] Honda is considering switching some car production from Mexico and Canada to the US, aiming for 90 per cent of cars sold in the country to be made locally in response to new US auto tariffs, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday (Apr 15).

Japan’s second-biggest automaker by sales plans to increase US vehicle production by as much as 30 per cent over two to three years in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to put a 25 per cent levy on imported vehicles, Nikkei said.

Honda declined to comment, saying the information was not announced by the company.

In the weeks leading up to the new US levy, Reuters had already reported that Honda plans to make its next-generation Civic hybrid in the US state of Indiana, instead of Mexico, to avoid potential tariffs.

The US was Honda’s biggest market last year, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of global sales. The automaker sold 1.4 million vehicles in the US last year. REUTERS