2,500+ new jobs coming to Ohio

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, and JobsOhio leaders announced that Honda has selected the Buckeye State to lead its electric vehicle (EV) production and, with LG Energy Solution, a joint venture battery plant.

During a special event at the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday, Honda and LG Energy Solution confirmed that their combined investments of at least $4.2 billion will create a total of 2,527 new jobs in Ohio between the establishment of a new EV battery plant in Fayette County and the retooling of existing Honda plants in Union, Logan, and Shelby counties for electric vehicle production.

Honda’s renewed commitment to Ohio comes exactly 45 years to the day after Honda leadership visited the Ohio Statehouse in 1977 to announce plans for its first vehicle production facility in the United States, the Marysville Motorcycle Plant.

“It has been more than four decades since Honda first saw great promise in Ohio, and although the way we manufacture vehicles is evolving, one thing that will stay the same is the quality of our workforce and their ability to get the job done,” Governor DeWine said. “Honda and LG Energy Solution now join a long list of companies that have looked all over the country for the best place to do business and have chosen Ohio because we have the ideal economic climate and an innovative and talented workforce.”

Of the total investment announced on Tuesday, Honda and LG Energy Solution will invest $3.5 billion in the new Fayette County battery plant, which will create at least 2,200 new jobs. A total of $700 million will be invested by Honda to retool its Marysville Auto Plant in Union County, Anna Engine Plant in Shelby County, and East Liberty Auto Plant in Logan County, creating 327 new jobs on top of its current workforce. Once transformed for EV production, the power source for the vehicles made at the Marysville, Anna, and East Liberty factories will come from the new battery plant in Fayette County.

“Honda and LG Energy Solution had many other states vying for this historic investment, and they chose Ohio,” Husted said. “Ohio’s talented workforce and strong business environment, along with Honda’s commitment to quality, continue to be a winning combination for the company and this state.”

Construction on the Fayette County battery plant is expected to begin in early 2023, with a goal of starting mass production of advanced lithium-ion battery modules by 2025. The site, at Interstate 71 and U.S. Route 35, offers more than 1,500 acres and is less than an hour’s drive from Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Chillicothe. It also includes access to utilities, including water, sewer, electricity, and natural gas.

In addition to choosing Ohio for its motorcycle plant on October 11, 1977, the Marysville Auto Plant produced the very first Honda Accord on November 1, 1982, and the Anna Engine Plant, which opened in 1985, now produces more than 1 million four-cylinder, V-6, and turbo engines for Honda auto plants throughout North America. The East Liberty Auto Plant opened in 1989 and has manufactured over 4.5 million Honda and Acura vehicles since its inception. In 1992, Honda opened a major product development center in Raymond, Ohio, that now creates many of the vehicles built in Ohio.

Last month, both companies announced an agreement to establish a new joint venture company to produce lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. to power Honda and Acura EV models. The pouch-type batteries produced at the new plant will be supplied to Honda facilities. The plant aims to support Honda’s target of making battery-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles 100 percent of its vehicle sales by 2040.

To support the expansion of these investments, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority will consider a tax credit at a future meeting, and JobsOhio also plans to provide grant assistance. The administration also plans to work with the General Assembly to secure state funding for local water and transportation infrastructure. Start of construction is pending local approvals.