Honda To Move Output Of Inspire Sedan To Japan From U.S.

TOKYO June 8, 2003; Dow Jones reported that Honda Motor Co. said it will transfer production of its "Inspire" large sedan to Japan from the U.S. to raise output efficiency.

The Japanese carmaker currently manufactures the Inspire in Ohio with 2.5 and 3.2-liter engines, but will move output to Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, and will unveil a remodeled version of the sedan on June 18.

"The new Inspire was originally developed for the domestic market, so it is natural to manufacture the model in Japan," a company spokeswoman said.

The move will improve Honda's output efficiency as the Saitama plant makes the U.S.-sold "Accord" sedan using the platform the new Inspire will be based on, and the two models share many parts, she added.

It will also raise Honda's plant utilization rate in Japan, where production has been dull since early this year due to sluggish domestic car sales. In contrast, Honda's U.S. plants have been very busy catching up with brisk sales there.

"In Ohio, we will increase output of models that sell well in the U.S. although the spare capacity (resulting from this shift) will be very small," the spokeswoman said. The Ohio plant produces 3,000 units of the Inspire annually.

In April, Honda's domestic auto output plunged 26% on year due to the weakness in its domestic car sales, particularly of such minivan models as the "Odyssey", the "Stepwagon" and the "Stream." April was Honda's third straight month of double-digit percentage falls in domestic production.

In the U.S., its production rose 7.2% on year that month and grew 20% on year in the January-April period.

Honda recently shifted production of the "Integra" coupe from Saitama to a factory in Mie Prefecture, western Japan.