SAYAMA, Japan (Dow Jones)--Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO) is considering producing the Fit compact car in North America, a general manager at the automobile maker said Wednesday.
The car manufacturer in late April started producing the compact at its Saitama plant in Japan for export to the U.S.
Global demand for the Fit is growing at a rate where its factory in Suzuka, also in Japan, struggled to keep up while it increased production of the recently launched Insight hybrid and Freed compact minivan.
So Honda began production in Saitama despite the yen remaining strong - which makes Japanese goods more expensive overseas.
"We are always considering" producing the Fit in North America, Tomonori Arai, head of the company's business management division, said at a meeting with the media in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture.
Honda and other auto makers are placing increased emphasis on small cars as more customers look to such fuel-efficient vehicles amid the economic slowdown and stricter emissions regulations.
The firm's basic production strategy is to make cars where demand exists. However, the company has at present no plans to manufacture the Fit in North America as there are no parts makers in the region that can supply parts for the Fit at a competitive cost, Arai said.
-By Yoshio Takahashi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6895-7561; yoshio.takahashi@dowjones.com



Source: Article - WSJ.com

 

It may be better off if they don't manufacture in the US, the quality may fall.

Even if they were to manufacture here, I bet the prices would still remain the same. Why charge less than what everyone's already been buying it for?

 

At least our fits are still made in japan!

 

Price will remain the same, profit margin will increase.

 

Quality will decrease. Made in America has become synonymous with Wal-Mart quality, I don't want to drive anything that has been made by american workers. No matter how good the Honda warranty may be I don't want to spend all my free time at the dealer getting things fixed!

 

so it wont just rattle. it will be a pos. hahahahaha

 

You mean China

American Cars = crap
American everything else = high quality but expensive

 

Honda's been manufacturing/assembling in the US since 1982...
Accord
Acura TL
Acura RDX
Civic
Element
CRV
Ridgeline

All made in the USA

PLUS engines and automatic transmissions for most of the above are forged in the US.

Honda Media Newsroom Release: North America Manufacturing -- North American Manufacturing Facilities

By this logic, Honda should have lost their reputation for reliability decades ago.

I hope you don't drive any of these models!

 

My dad works for a U.S. company that makes honda clusters. He says Honda is really strict on their performance and reliability of their products. He has worked there for the last 15 yrs.

On the opposite end of the spectrum though I had an Acura CL-S and we all know those auto trannies were big problems in those cars (even though I never had a problem ((Honda put a tranny cooler in it before I did)). I knew alot of other 2 gen CL and TL owners that had alot of issues with theirs and those were built in the U.S. (Marysville, Ohio to be specific )
That is why people have the anti U.S. built mentality.

 

Me mom's 02 crv (150k) was made in tennesse or ohio (don't remember). still a honda. still awesome. only had one problem (check engine sensor was broken). the end good thing it doesn't have a civic si transmission

 

My pops 03 Tundra... Made in USA

I hope they do bring them over... more jobs

Also Selling point, Fit built in Japan in U.S. = rarer = more valuable right?

 

I am happy I got my Fit while it's still made in Japan. American manufacturing for the most part sucks as evidenced by the horrible quality and reliability of American made cars in the mid 80's through the early part of the millennium. It is only just recently when their backs are against the wall and they declare bankruptcy do they start putting an emphasis on quality control. There are some well made American cars, the new Chevy Malibu comes to mind. But for me it's too little too late. American manufactures and American plant employees will have many, many years to prove themselves to me before I buy an American car, or a car made in America for that matter.

No one can compare to Japanese manufacturing practices. Honda is considered one of the best auto manufactures in the world, with the most reliable cars, and they didn't get that way by manufacturing them in America. Only recently have they started moving some manufacturing to the US, but Honda's of the 80's and 90's are some of the most reliable cars ever made. I'm hoping my Fit continues the trend, and if the 5,000 miles I've put on the car in the past seven months is any indication, I have nothing to worry about.

 

I work at HCM in Alliston, Ontario Canada. We build the 4dr Civic, only manufacturer of the 2dr Civic in the world, we also build the Acura MDX, Acura ZDX and we now have an engine plant that builds the Civic engines. The plants in North America are compared to the one's in Japan all the time and it may come as a surprise but the North America quality is actually superior to that of any of the Japan plants. We just got a new Pres. at HCM from Japan and his first comment was how impressed he was with our straight ship and quality numbers....so....think twice before thinking Japan builds the best vehicles in the world, it just isn't so. You would have to work for Honda to see how tightly things are controlled.

 

What do you mean the ONLY manufacturer of the 2dr civic in the world? Which year model?

As a side note: when I was in college my friend and I both had '95 Civic EX coupes. His was built in Japan and mine was built in Canada. Absolutely no difference in quality.

 

The current model 2dr Civic is exclusively built at HCM, has been since launch, formal models were exclusively built in Ohio.