'For all intent and purposes, it is business as usual' at Honda in Alliston
Posted April 15, 2025
Honda Canada tamped down rumours this morning out of Japan it was shifting enough production out of Alliston to skirt American tariffs on auto imports, but stopped short of ruling it out as a future option as conditions warrant.
In a prepared statement, Honda Canada said it would not comment on the story by Nikkie Asia which suggested the automaker would boost its American production by 30 per cent over two to three years to meet a 90 per cent of unit sales in the U.S.
"This was not an announcement by Honda and we cannot comment on the specifics of this morning's headlines," according to the statement. "However, we can confirm that our Canadian manufacturing facility in Alliston, Ontario, will operate at full capacity for the foreseeable future and no changes are being considered at this time. We constantly study options for future contingency planning and utilize short-term production shift strategies when required, to mitigate negative impacts on our business.
As the second largest auto manufacturer in Canada by volume in 2024, approximately 69% of all Honda vehicles sold in Canada are built in Canada, and 99% of vehicles sold here are sourced from North American facilities. This long-standing North American flexible and local manufacturing approach allows us to quickly adapt to various market conditions across the region, including making coordinated production shifts to specific models built at each facility, bound for various regions and potentially new markets, depending on customer demand. Canadian production will remain at full capacity thanks to domestic sales, which are up 9% in the first quarter of this year, led by the Canadian-built Honda Civic, Canada's top-selling passenger car in 2024, and the Honda CR-V, the best-selling hybrid in Canada in 2024."
When asked about the phrasing "foreseeable future" and "at this time," Ken Chiu, Corporate Communications, Honda Canada, said, "We can’t speak in absolutes, but for all intent and purposes, it is business as usual."
