Plant is lead assembly facility for new hybrid model worldwide.
On November 9, Honda Canada Manufacturing (HCM) marked a very significant milestone. Honda executives, associates, local dignitaries and members of media gathered for a special ceremony signifying the production launch of the 2023 CR-V Hybrid. HCM’s Plant 2, in Alliston, Ontario, is the lead assembly plant globally for the new CR-V Hybrid; which is the very first Honda hybrid vehicle to be manufactured in Canada.
At the launch event, Honda of Canada President & CEO Jean Marc Leclerc, said that the production launch of the new CR-V hybrid represents the culmination of “hard work, dedication to excellence, and consistently delivering on the high expectations our customers have for our products. That is why HCM has cemented its position as a world-class manufacturer while contributing to the success of Canadian suppliers that we rely on for over $3 billion every year your goods and services.”
Leclerc also noted that the CR-V Hybrid represents a crucial part in Honda’s strategy towards electrification, with the goal of achieving 50% of total CR-V sales within the next few years.
Both regular and hybrid CR-Vs are now rolling off the assembly line in Plant 2. A new 2.0-litre Atkinson-Cycle four-cylinder engine that’s exclusive to the CR-V Hybrid is assembled at the Anna Engine Plant (AEP) in Ohio and shipped to Alliston for installation alongside the two-motor hybrid system manufactured at Honda’s Ohio Transmission Plant (TMP-O).
In total, three different assembly plants will build the 2023 Honda CR-V in North America, in addition to HCM, which is the global lead plant for production for CR-V Hybrid, the Indiana Auto Plant (IAP) and East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP) in Ohio, which produced the previous CR-V Hybrid, will also manufacture the new model.
HCM took a lead role in developing the initial CR-V prototype, as well as implementing new manufacturing technologies, upgrading the tooling processes at Plant 2 in Alliston, Ontario, and established a revised suppliers’ network. A full-size mock-up of the CR-V body, used for the first time at HCM, enabled the HCM team to apply 4000 countermeasures on the main assembly line, thus enabling a faster, more optimal and quality process.
The fact that HCM in Alliston has been named lead assembly facility (globally) for the 2023 Hybrid speaks volumes about the stature this manufacturing facility now holds as part of Honda’s operations, not only in Canada, but North America and the rest of the world.
