Fans of Honda cars, prepare to start your engines. The Japanese manufacturing giant will produce its next-generation Civic hybrid in the U.S. state of Indiana rather than Mexico to side-step tariffs on one of its top-selling car models, a report Monday claims.
Reuters reporter Maki Shiraki cites three people familiar with the matter to state Mexico was initially chosen because rising costs were making it tough to produce the car in Indiana and Canada.
The outlet continued that now now changed since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and set about protecting American jobs and American workers:
The change underscores how manufacturers are scrambling to adapt to U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada. While several automakers have expressed concerns about the levies, Honda’s move is the first concrete measure by a major Japanese car company.
Japan’s second-largest automaker had initially planned to manufacture the next-generation Civic in Guanajuato, Mexico, according to the three people. Production was slated to start from November 2027, according to one of the people.
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It now plans to build the new Civic model in Indiana from May 2028 with an expected annual production of around 210,000, one of the people said. Honda would look to import from nations not hit by tariffs if production in Indiana falls short of demand, one of them said.
A Honda spokesperson declined to comment on changes to the Civic production plan when approached by Reuters, adding the company would continue to take into account demand and the business environment while considering “optimal production and allocation globally.”
The outlet further notes Honda sold some 1.4 million cars and trucks in the United States last year, including Acura models.
The manufacturer sold more than 240,000 Civics, both gasoline and gasoline-electric hybrid models, making the car Honda’s second-best seller in the U.S. market after the CR-V.
U.S. sales of the Civic, known for its affordability, rose 21 percent year-on-year last year, company data shows. About 40 percent of the vehicles Honda sells in the U.S. are imported from Mexico and Canada.
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