Honda Motor Co. announced Thursday that it plans to double its production capacity in Brazil as part of efforts to double sales in emerging markets.
The maker of Accord sedans will spend about 1 billion Brazilian real (¥42.1 billion) to build a second factory in Brazil, the automaker said in a statement.
The plant will open in 2015, boosting Honda's production capacity in Brazil to 240,000 units, Japan's third-largest automaker said.
The capacity increase will help Honda meet a goal of raising the contribution from emerging markets to half the 6 million units it aims to sell in the 12 months through March 2017. Honda has also announced plans to bolster production in China, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico.
Honda plans to build compact models at the new plant in Brazil, to be located in Itirapina, around 200 km northwest of Sao Paolo, the statement said.
The carmaker set up its Brazilian subsidiary in October 1997. Its sales in the country expanded 45 percent to 134,956 units last year.
Brazil, the largest auto market in Latin America, will probably see economic expansion accelerate to 2.3 percent this year and 3.1 percent in 2014, according to the median of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.
Honda sold a record 3.81 million vehicles last year, a 23 percent jump from a year earlier. About 33 percent of those sales were in emerging markets.
Mazda revs up in Mexico
Kyodo
Mazda Motor Corp. said Thursday it will build an engine machining factory at its Mexico car plant.
The new factory of Mazda Motor Manufacturing de Mexico S.A. de C.V., a joint venture with Sumitomo Corp., will start manufacturing Skyactiv engines, to be installed in Mazda vehicles, at an annual production rate of 230,000 units.
The joint venture will invest a further $120 million, or around ¥12 billion, in the engine machining factory.