Honda Motor Co., the first Asian automaker to produce cars in the U.S., said Wednesday it will build its sixth North American plant in an as-yet-unidentified Midwestern state as part of a $1.46 billion expansion.
Denver, which is trying to woo United Airlines to relocate its corporate headquarters from suburban Chicago, never pursued the Honda plant, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.
“The last time we went after an auto plant would have been about 1993-1994, when we made a very serious run for an Audi plant,” said Tom Clark, the group’s executive vice president. “At that time, Stapleton was getting ready to close, and we thought that would that would be a good location.”
Audi ultimately decided against Denver, saying the transportation costs of moving finished product out of Denver were prohibitive, he said.
“So when big auto-plant stuff happens, we use that as our No. 1 guide,” said Clark. “Secondly, the skills necessary for that kind of manufacturing seem to be in short supply in Colorado. It never seems like a good fit.”
Honda is “now in the final stages of securing a site in the Midwest,” spokesman Jeffrey Smith said in a conference call Wednesday.
He wouldn’t give a specific location for the $400 million factory, scheduled to open in 2008.
It will be the first assembly plant built in the region by a non-U.S. automaker since since Toyota Motor Corp.’s factory in Princeton, Ind., opened in 1998.
Officials from Ohio and Indiana said they are in the running for the plant.
Honda, Japan’s third-largest automaker, announced its expansion plans in Tokyo and said it will add another gasoline-electric car because it expects growth in North American demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.
The plans include new and expanded plants in the U.S., Canada and Japan. President Takeo Fukui is using Tokyo-based Honda’s highest-ever profits to invest a record $5.2 billion this year.
Honda said its new U.S. factory will employ at least 1,500 workers and produce 200,000 vehicles annually. The company began making cars in the U.S. in 1982 in Marysville, Ohio.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
