New Honda car plant

Honda Motor de Argentina, a Honda subsidiary, will be building a new $100m (£48m) car plant in Buenos Aries that is due to start production in the latter half of 2009.

The factory¹s annual capacity of 30,000 units will supply the local Argentinian market and provide 800 new jobs. Production, final assembly and engine assembly plants will be located at the new site.

The car market in Argentina has made good progress in recent years. In 2006, the market size reached approximately 450,000 units ­ showing a growth of 17 per cent on 2005. Honda car sales are also buoyant, reaching 7,300 units in 2006 ­ up 50 per cent on the previous year and Honda hopes the new plant will continue to fulfill the expanding demand in Argentina.

The new plant will eventually export products to other countries in South America and play a role in Honda¹s production network in South America along with its Honda auto plant in Brazil.