WUHAN, CHINA, Jul 10, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., a Honda automobile production and sales joint venture in China, today held a ceremony to commemorate the start of production at its new second automobile plant (in Wuhan, Hubei Province). Attending the ceremony were dignitaries, guests and representatives from the local governments of Wuhan, Hubei Province as well as Xu Ping, CEO of Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Takanobu Ito, President & CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
The second plant is located approximately 4km northeast of the first plant and employs advanced production and environmental technologies based on Honda's belief that "environmentally-responsible products should be built in environmentally-responsible plants." The new plant will achieve China's top-level reduction in both CO2 and VOC emissions, in CO2 emissions by shortening the painting process and utilizing waste heat at its painting facility, and in VOC emissions by and adopting water based primer in the processing of plastic resin components. Moreover, the new plant will be a "highly efficient and people-friendly plant" with introduction of the world's first* full-pallet conveyor assembly line, where the ground height of the conveyer can be changed flexibly and the doors of the vehicle are carried under the pallet, as well as the adoption of a barrier-free process that minimizes the number of steps required for associates. The initial annual production capacity of the second plant is 100,000 units; however, plans already exist to expand capacity to 120,000 units next year and to 240,000 units in the future.
Since the establishment of the company in 2003, Dongfeng Honda has been taking on continuous challenges driven by its dreams to provide customers with automobiles that offer unprecedented new values in China and share their joy with our customers and with society. As a result of such challenges, Dongfeng Honda's cumulative sales exceeded 1.25 million units in June 2012.
Honda is continuing the challenge to attain its goal "to provide good products with speed, affordability and low CO2 emissions." In China, one of the largest automobile markets in the world, Honda continues to expand production capacity and further accelerate the localization of production, sales and development for the introduction of products that focus on Chinese customers. Through these efforts, Honda is striving to achieve a 20% year-on-year increase in sales units this year and to double 2011 sales units by 2015 and continues to provide new value beyond the expectations of customers.
About Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd.
Established: July 2003
Capital investment: US$350 million
Capitalization ratio: 40% Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
10% Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
50% Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd.
Location: Wuhan, Hubei Province
Representative: Yasuhide Mizuno, President
Employment: Approximately 6,900 associates
Products: CR-V, Civic, Spirior, CIIMO, ELYSION
Sales network: 332 dealer locations (as of June 2012)