Honda Canada investing $492 million in Alliston, Ont. facility

Honda Canada Inc. has announced plans to invest $492 million at its plant in Alliston, Ont.

The automaker will use the funds to prepare the main assembly lines for the next-generation models of the Civic and CR-V, and to complete a new paint shop at the Alliston plant, which is about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto.

Financial support for the upgrade is coming from the federal and Ontario governments.

Ottawa and Queen’s Park will each contribute $41.8 million. The government money will be in the form of grants to Honda.

Honda Canada president and CEO Jerry Chenkin said the new paint shop will help the company cut greenhouse gas emissions from its paint process by 44 per cent.

The federal government said its financial support will be doled out over a three-year period.

“This investment in Honda of Canada will bring significant economic and environmental benefits to Canada both now and in the long term,” federal Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains said in a statement. “It will keep our industry competitive and ensure that well-paying middle-class manufacturing jobs stay in Canada.”

Honda’s Alliston plant has capacity to build approximately 400,000 Civic and CR-Vs each year, as well as a quarter-million engines.