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| Honda further expands motorcycle production while strengthening auto production capacity. |
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| Cumulative production of motorcycles reaches 10 million units |
| South America started importing Honda motorcycles in 1960. Local motorcycle manufacturing began in 1976 at Moto Honda Amazonia, located in Manaus, in the Amazon region of Brazil. Today, Honda’s share of the Brazilian motorcycle market stands at more than 70%, and the cumulative number of motorcycles manufactured exceeded 10 million in August 2007. Seventeen models are now produced locally, and the ratio of parts procured domes-tically comes to more than 90%. Production of the “NF100 Wave,” the second locally manufactured motorcycle, started in Argentina in 2006. The opening of a new motorcycle factory in Peru in 2007 also expanded output capacity in South America. Additionally, a wide range of power products is manufactured and sold in response to regional needs. |
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| Increasing product capacity to meet South America’s growing demand for cars |
| In 1992, Honda began to import and sell cars in Brazil. We established Honda Automoveis do Brasil in 1996, opened an R&D office in Brazil, and began manufacturing the Civic there in 1997. In 2003, we began producing the Honda Fit* as our second locally manufactured model, and in 2006, we launched the Fit FFV and Civic FFV in Brazil. These Flex Fuel vehicles run on gasoline and ethanol, which has become very popular in that nation. We are also estab-lishing a new automobile factory in Argentina, where local production will begin in 2009. In addition to meeting the demands of the growing Argentine market, this facility will also export to the other countries in the region, assuming shared responsibility for car production in South America together with Honda’s factory in Brazil. |
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| *A model also known as the Jazz in some countries. |
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