Six months after pulling the plug on its ambitious $15-billion electric vehicle and battery gigafactory project, Honda is including its Canadian manufacturing facilities in a massive new investment in hybrid technology.
The Japanese automaker announced a new $867-million commitment for its operations in Alliston, Ontario, anchored by a $166-million direct capital investment to retool the facility for next-generation hybrid and gasoline vehicles. Honda will also resume building engines in Alliston, something it hasn’t done since 2024.
The investment is heavily backed by government co-funding aimed at fortifying Canada's auto sector against shifting U.S. trade pressures and potential tariffs. The federal government is contributing $313 million to the project, while the Ontario government is pitching in $156 million.
At the same time, Honda confirmed it will put $3 billion into building a new assembly plant south of the border, in Marysville, Ohio.
Alliston to build engines and hybrid vehicles
The multi-million-dollar package going to Ontario secures the future of Alliston’s two primary assembly lines, which produce the Civic sedan and CR-V crossover, while preserving more than 4,000 direct assembly jobs. This will allow Honda to keep an enviable and laudable streak going in Canada: in 40 years of local manufacturing, the company has never laid off a single full-time production worker.
Beyond vehicle assembly, the retooling marks the return of engine manufacturing to Alliston, which was paused in 2024. The adjacent engine plant, which produced nearly four million 4-cylinder engines between 2008 and 2024, will be reactivated to build next-generation internal combustion engines alongside hybrid power units tailored specifically for Canadian-built Civics and CR-Vs.
“This renewed investment reinforces Canada's critical role in Honda's North American growth and hybrid-electric vehicle strategy, helping position our operations for long-term competitiveness.”
- Dave Jamieson, President and CEO of Honda Canada.
With both the Civic and CR-V approach their next-generation lifecycles — expected around the 2028 model year — the new move ensures Ontario remains an important hub for Honda's North American volume strategy.
New plant in Ohio
Honda's new North American strategy also contains something to keep U.S. workers, watchers and government officials happy. The automaker is constructing a new $3-billion USD assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio. Scheduled to come online in 2029 with an annual capacity of 240,000 vehicles, the Ohio site will boost Honda’s overall North American production capacity from 1.6 million to roughly 1.9 million vehicles per year.
Powertrain facilities across Ohio, Georgia and Alabama are also undergoing major retooling—including a 250 percent output increase for hybrid systems at its Ohio transmission plant and a new V6 hybrid engine line in Alabama.
These combined efforts support Honda’s global mandate to launch 15 new Honda and Acura hybrid models by 2030, with North America serving as the primary market for the lineup expansion.