Honda Begins Production Of Odyssey Minivans, And V-6 engines In Alabama.(Brief Article)

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA) said it began mass production of Honda's benchmark Odyssey minivan and the V-6 engine that powers it -- approximately six months ahead of the original vehicle launch plan for the plant.

"With dealer inventories currently in short supply it was necessary to accelerate the mass production start-up in Alabama to meet the needs of our customers and dealers," said Mikio Yoshimi, president of HMA. "This is the quickest ever construction of a new Honda auto plant in North America, but our goal is customer satisfaction, not record construction. I am extremely proud of what all of our associates in Alabama have accomplished, advancing the launch date while achieving Honda's high quality level."

Honda announced plans to build a plant in Alabama in May 1999, with the original mass production start-up scheduled for April 2002. At the April 2000 groundbreaking, HMA announced it would accelerate the start-up of production to late 2001, with plans to reach employment of 1,500 workers when HMA meets its annual production of 120,000 vehicles and 120,000 engines in late 2002. Currently, HMA employs approximately 1,100 associates, the company said.

Honda said the start-up of HMA increases its capital investment in North America to more than $6 billion, raises Honda's North American employment to more than 25,000 associates and brings to eleven the number of major Honda manufacturing plants in North America.

HMA will help boost total North American auto production capacity to 1.18 million units by late 2002, the company said.

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