Honda Motor Co. will spend $84 million and hire 100 more workers to expand production of light trucks and engines at its assembly plant in Alabama.
The investment will boost annual capacity for the Lincoln, Alabama, plant to 340,000 vehicles and engines by 2013 from 300,000 now, Honda said in a statement on its website late Monday. The plant employs more than 4,000 people.
Asian automakers including Honda are expanding output capacity in North America as U.S. sales recover from a recession in 2008 and 2009. Demand for new cars and trucks grew 10 percent this year through October, and most companies and analysts are forecasting total sales of 12.5 million to 13 million vehicles in 2011.