Honda invests $492M at Alliston plant
Honda Canada said Monday it will spend $492 million in upgrades at its Alliston, Ont., plant to build the next generation Civic and CR-V models.
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Honda Canada said Monday it will spend $492 million in upgrades at its Alliston, Ont., plant to build the next-generation Civic and CR-V models.
The Ontario and federal governments will each contribute $41.8 million toward the investment at the plant, which employs more than 4,000 hourly workers.
The governments’ contribution represents about 17 per cent of the total investment, but also a significant change for the federal Automotive Innovation Fund. For the first time since, the AIF money would be in the form of grants instead of taxable, repayable loans. That measure has long been sought by the industry, which has argued that loan-based contributions did little to attract automotive investment in Canada.
Ontario has traditionally offered grant-based incentives for new auto investment.
Jerry Chenkin, president and CEO, Honda Canada, said the investment will go towards building a “state-of-the-art paint shop that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 44 per cent.”
As a result of these upgrades, Honda “will continue to provide thousands of well-paying, high-quality jobs in Alliston and throughout Canada.”
In 2015, the plant produced more than 385,000 Civic and CR-V models and 221,000 engines.