With new plant in Brazil, Honda doubles the production

Honda will double the production capacity of automobiles in Brazil with the second plant to be built in the State of São Paulo, whose investments are estimated at around $ 1 billion. The line, which will be built in the small town of Itirapina, 200 kilometers from the capital of the State, will manufacture, among other possibilities are evaluated, a new generation of compact model Fit and will have the potential to 120 thousand cars a year, the same as the factory in São Paulo also Sumaré, where Honda produces vehicles for 16 years.
The project was officially announced yesterday, after being presented to both the State Government as for the federal, as for his Habilitation to the new automotive system. About 2 thousand employees will work in the future Honda factory, which will occupy an area of 5.8 million square meters.
The proximity to the network of suppliers that supply the Sumaré-apart just 100 kilometers from Itirapina-is one of the factors mentioned by the direction of the company to justify the location of the enterprise. Also influenced in choosing logistics-related advantages, given access to one of the most important highways of the State, Washington Luís, as well as the proximity to some of the main markets of the country-including the largest in the city of São Paulo.
As the Sumaré unit has been operating on the edge of installed capacity and there is no more space available onsite for major expansion works, the Honda had been considering for more than two years the construction of its second plant in Brazil.
To double in size in the country, the brand hopes to rise from 3.8% to about 5% in a market that will reach close to 5 million cars by 2020. The investment also gives new breath to the Honda achieve your goal of selling 1 million cars in the Brazilian market within a period of five years. If all leave as provided for in the company, the works will be started by the end of the year, so the automaker receiving the environmental license. The start of operations is planned for 2015.
Unlike Hyundai and Toyota, which have opted for the local production of cars to become more accessible in the country, Honda decided to keep within a track above the popular market in this venture. In the future, the Group intends to produce a model whose price part of R $ 47.9 thousand today, still the lowest value in the table of Japanese brand. Behind the Civic sedan, the Fit is the second best-selling model by Honda in Brazil, with more than 25 thousand units emplacadas until July. The new generation of car will be presented next month in Japan.
But the Itirapina can also accommodate other models produced by the automaker today in Richmond, City and Civic, as well as a new compact SUV derived from the Fit, which is among the upcoming releases by Honda for the next 18 months. From now on, the company will look at where each template will be accommodated.
Masahiro Takedagawa, President of Honda in South America, says that, to unburden the new factory Sumaré, gives flexibility to the group work better the distribution of its lines in the production system. According to him, if necessary, both the new Fit as the SUV can be made at the two plants. "Both the factories can manufacture any car from our portfolio", Takedagawa said in an interview with value.
According to the Executive, the venture announced to Itirapina will be aligned to the demands of increasing use of local auto parts placed by Innovating, name given to the automobile industry policy launched in October last year. The automaker aims to increase from 60% to 80% its nationalization.
In the case of the car that will be produced in Itirapina, motor, 1.5 power, will be done in Sumaré, but the transmission will continue to be imported from India and Indonesia, Takedagawa said. Until July, Honda's sales in Brazil rose by 8.7%, with the record of 77.3 thousand cars got their plates.