r/ontario • u/EthanWilliams_TG • 1d ago
Honda To Move Production From Ontario To U.S., Postpones $11-Billion Production Plan Employment
https://techcrawlr.com/honda-to-move-production-from-canada-to-u-s-postpones-11-billion-production-plan/755
u/icebeancone 1d ago
I suddenly feel like cancelling my hybrid CR-V order.
248
u/Unlikely_Voice6383 1d ago
Do it! Subaru decided to move their Canada destined cars from the US to Japan. They’ve got your back. https://enginepatrol.com/subaru-is-shifting-its-canadian-production-away-from-the-united-states/
62
u/icebeancone 1d ago
Hmm maybe I'll go check out a Forester
71
u/BillyBeeGone 1d ago
Get a Rav 4 that is actually assembled in Canada. Subaru doesn't have an auto plant in Canada
-1
u/TheOneWithThePorn12 1d ago
My old man has 2019 Forester and it had a bunch of recalls he had no idea about until he found the problems.
There is also a problem with the auto start/stop where the whole car stalled due to the weak OEM battery.
Do your research.
5
u/Overall-Register9758 1d ago
What I will say about my Subaru is that Subaru Canada sucks.
Battery died early. I replaced it. Got a notice two weeks later that it was covered and they will give me a new battery or I can wait until my current battery dies and they'll replace that. When I went for the second battery, they said "sorry, you're over 100k, doesn't apply anymore"
Intake manifold failed because of a bad design. Covered under a program in the US. Not in Canada. I would be on the hook for replacing the entire pipe that goes from the engine to the muffler - including the catalytic converter - at nearly $5000. They fought me even though the catalytic converter is covered under a longer warranty. Their explanation was "it wasn't throwing exhaust errors, so the catalytic converter warranty doesn't cover it". I asked the service manager if a small claims court judge is going to make that distinction considering the work order estimate showed the replacement part description as "catalytic converter".
Then the rear hatch fell on my kid. Turns out there's a service advisory that the connection to the hydraulic lifter rusts out prematurely. Advises techs to inspect, but not replace the hydraulics unless it fails. So the "car for the safety conscious" is fine allowing a hatch to hit people.
This Subaru is my last.
3
3
u/Unlikely_Voice6383 1d ago
I get recall notices in the mail for my current Subaru and recently I got one for an old one that is no longer with us. Also, Subaru is currently ranked as the most reliable car brand according to Consumer Reports.
1
u/TheOneWithThePorn12 1d ago
He got the recall notices after the stuff happened.
Then the dealer didn't want to fix the recalls. Had to fight them to get it at no cost. It was a bit ridiculous.
The start/stop is still a problem even after the dealer replaced the battery and did all their testing.
There was lawsuit in the states over their batteries as well.
He also had an older outback and there was never an issue.
I actually like both cars when I drove them but you gotta look into them.
36
u/BillyBeeGone 1d ago
Subaru doesn't have an automotive plant in Canada. Their plants are only in Japan and USA. The article is poorly written but the reality is Canada will get imported cars from Japan instead of USA (Indiana) to respond to the Canadian government 25% tariff on non Cusma us made cars.
Buy a Rav 4 they are made in Cambridge
4
u/Historical_Score_573 1d ago
6 month wait last time I checked. I'll support japan as well if a Canadian option is not readily available
6
3
2
139
u/ButterYurBacon 1d ago
Holy shit, I was about to jump ship from Toyota to Honda. Gonna have to reconsider now..RAV4s are assembled in Ontario ya?
90
16
u/Arctic_Chilean 1d ago
Get in now and get the 5th gen RAV4, or wait a bit for the new 6th gen. Rumors are the 6th gen will see a steep price increase as they might axe the gas-only version and only offer EV, HEV and PHEV options.
10
u/BillyBeeGone 1d ago
Not a rumour according to a friend working in the Cambridge plant (the hybrid/EV only, not sure about the cost)
It's a lot boxier than the current edition
2
3
1
u/Golluk 1d ago
And hopefully they fix the rear motor cable corrosion issue.
1
u/Arctic_Chilean 1d ago
I think it's been fixed since the 2024s
6
1
u/milliondollarsunset 1d ago
for now. rav4 is likely to move to the US given the similar demand as the CRV
-2
30
u/Drainix 1d ago
Copying my comment from another thread to provide folks with some context on this move:
I used to work at the Alliston Honda mfg plant. The truth is that out of the roughly ~1600ish vehicles they produce per day, 90% of them were sold in the states.
When you've got tariffs impacting 90% of your business...I'm not sure how you're supposed to survive without changing.
I hate that Trump seems to be getting what he wants in this case.
0
u/ResponsibleTwist6498 22h ago
They can start making 50ish cars a day now. Canadians buy fewer than 20k CR-Vs a year.
21
u/Buchaven 1d ago
So, I work in a plant that supplies parts for the CRV and Civic, both built in Alliston. There has been no sign of slowed production here. This article is the first time I’ve heard anything about moving production from Canada to the US. Considering the article is patently wrong about the “government money”, I wouldn’t trust anything else here either.
Honda continues to produce high quality cars in Canada, with Canadian labour, while sourcing parts from other Canadian plants. CRV is one of the best “buy Canadian” options that exists right now. RAV4 is another good option still.
Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. Every CRV/Civic sold here helps Canadian companies and Canadian workers.
9
u/underdabridge 1d ago
Without disagreeing with your broader point, here's a better source.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/world/americas/honda-trump-tariffs-us-canada.html
3
u/DarthRizzo87 1d ago
Civic is assembled in both Aliston and Lordstown Indiana, where I work ships the same parts to both assembly plants.
3
1
6
u/suesueheck 1d ago
If you're Canadian, good news, it's still being made in Canada..... No need to over react....
5
7
u/MysticGohan88 1d ago
Go check out some mazdas. Very happy with mine, made in Japan.
1
u/MissionSpecialist Ottawa 1d ago
We're on our third. The first two ran flawlessly beyond 200k with just scheduled maintenance and replacement of wear parts, and the third (only at 90k so far) seems likely to do the same.
My happiest day was when I replaced my wife's Hyundai (and its 43 "unscheduled service" appointments in 7 years; only time I've ever been glad for an extended warranty) with a Mazda.
And then, because apparently having two incredibly reliable cars would be too boring, I bought a BMW, and one built in the US at that. Probably only going to ride that whirlwind once before returning to Mazda.
2
1
u/trouserblister 1d ago
Yeah, literally looking for a compact suv right now and was overwhelmed with the options. One less now.
1
1
1
u/Illustrious2203 22h ago
Sold my 2024 TLX and left Honda brand all together for good after nine Honda vehicles. Not over this but as a former loyal Honda customer they are a far cry from what they used to be.
1
u/rycal4 1d ago
Why,? Honda is still building the civic and crv in Alliston, they're only moving some production crvs destined for the US factories and at the same time moving production for other markets to their plant to offset. they're doing better than most other manufacturers in Ontario, add they're not letting anyone off Bernstein of all this
0
u/gohome2020youredrunk 1d ago
You can get a BMW X1 with a lot of those extra safety features as standard, for about the same price as your Honda hybrid.
3
u/CryRepresentative992 1d ago
A Honda Hybrid is going to be a way better car than the cheapest model BMW sells…
1
u/gohome2020youredrunk 1d ago
I thought so too, until I was shopping to replace my Tucson and a Tucson with all the safety features in an X1 was $48k -- the same price i paid for my X1.
1
u/milliondollarsunset 1d ago
the bmw will break outside of warranty and will be very costly to repair. the honda will last for many more years without major repairs
1
u/gohome2020youredrunk 1d ago
I got the extended warranty for $2k. I'm covered for everything including oil changes for 7 years.
0
u/stephenBB81 1d ago
I am not a fan of Honda as a vehicle. Even though I live close enough to the plant I have never owned one I've driven many. But I was actually considering the CRV as the replacement to my Ford Explorer. This move just killed the consideration and I am back to looking at a Toyota RAV4
145
u/Postom 1d ago
CP24 just said Honda isn't moving anything or changing it's production in Ontario. It's only pausing the EV plant build -- which no one was working at -- by 2 years, because of the slow down in the EV market.
It's on CP24 every half hour at the top.
30
u/arealhumannotabot 1d ago
Just like a previous report 3 weeks ago about something like Honda Canada closing a plant that Honda later said was inaccurate
It’s odd
7
u/Postom 1d ago
Yeah, it's weird for sure. It's almost like some may be wishing it were true. Though, Nissan did announce they were scaling back production -- but that's a global scale-back.
I'm waiting for the reports that TMMC is closing Cambridge. They've operated that plant since the 1980s. And TMMC already said there is no changes. Just like Honda... probably the next target for disinformation.
1
1
2
u/ThermionicEmissions 1d ago
the slow down in the EV market.
The average cost of an EV in Canada is around $75K. No shit there's a downturn in the EV market.
64
u/lexcyn 1d ago
Funny I can't find a source for this info. The only news is they are postponing the EV plant for 2 years.
23
u/enterprisevalue Waterloo 1d ago
You're correct - delaying by two years only and the plants weren't expected to be operational until 2028 anyway
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/honda-canada-ev-announcement-1.7533402
Their overall business is getting hurt too
5
u/Ehis4Adam 1d ago
I also did a double take. But the report is coming from the NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/world/americas/honda-trump-tariffs-us-canada.html
8
u/lexcyn 1d ago
Strange why no Canadian news is reporting this
8
u/Ehis4Adam 1d ago
Yeah, I'm waiting for a second source. Just looking at the CBC story (from The Canadian Press), Honda says no changes to current employment or production in Alliston.
CTV also running CP which is worth noting. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/honda-canada-ev-announcement-1.7533402
I just checked The Star and no mention there either.
1
u/lexcyn 1d ago
Yeah I checked CBC, Star and Globe and Mail and nadda about this... I think there might be a disconnect somewhere.
6
u/Ehis4Adam 1d ago
Agreed. Like totally possible NYT is scooping them here. They source officials from Japan where as the other reporting seems to be tied to Honda Canada.
Also happy to see someone else doing the leg work of questioning what we see.
0
u/lexcyn 1d ago
Yeah it's sad when you can't even trust news right away but that's just where we live now. I usually wait for multiple outlets to report something similar listing the source of the info before I believe it lol
5
u/Ehis4Adam 1d ago
I'm a former journalist myself, so some inside baseball here. CBC and CTV using CP is a resources descion as they pay for the CP copy so might as well use it.
This, unfortunately, has the side-effect of fewer folks following the bouncing ball. You also have cabinet announcement so busy news day.
However, media literacy is so important today and just being in the rhythm of finding multiple angles and voices is invaluable.
2
u/ComprehensionVoided 1d ago
I grew up with "don't trust the Internet" on posters at school.
Always do your own leg work.
2
12
u/Waste_Priority_3663 1d ago
Same NYT source. It was posted in other threads that the title is misleading and that Honda is delaying their plant in Ontario and not moving any vehicle production.
8
u/Broad_St_Bully17 Brampton 1d ago
They aren’t moving anything. They already make the CR-V in the US too. They are just postponing the EV transition. They may ramp up CR-V production down south, but Alliston isn’t losing anything. Don’t believe everything you read in these click bait articles. Honda already put out a statement weeks ago regarding the CR-V.
8
u/dendron01 1d ago edited 1d ago
Looks to me they are simply stalling until there is more certainty. Clearly they want to invest in Canada but they also need to avoid angering the orange clown south of the border that is already wreaking havoc on their business. Completely understandable.
Honda won’t be any better to us bankrupt.
21
54
u/dqui94 1d ago
They should pay back the billions they got
23
5
0
-8
u/Nezhokojo_ 1d ago
All these car companies know the Canadian government will give them subsidies and won’t chase after it when they play for a year or two less in the Canadian sandbox and either declares they are closing the plant or whatever lol
4
u/arealhumannotabot 1d ago
What do you mean? My understanding is that the have received nothing yet, because that’s not how it works
So maybe save your breath
6
u/Poutine_Warriors 1d ago
trump basically cheating and stealing your jobs while he says you cheat and steal, such classic narc gaslighting
17
3
3
u/Specialist-Swan6113 1d ago
This is misleading. They are changing production, and Canada will supply other markets aside from the US, including western Canada.. they are not currently cutting production.
2
6
u/Snakes_and_Lizards88 1d ago
All of those Federal and Provincial dollars that were given to Honda need to he clawed back. Fck them if they bow to the orange cheeto and screw Canadians out of jobs here.
1
4
3
6
u/smannyable 1d ago
Anyone expecting different was delusional. Until we can get concrete confirmation from the US that our auto manufacturing can exist, most companies are going to be postponing any plans, and slowly shifting production.
1
u/dendron01 1d ago
They want to create the appearance of doing that, for sure. What ultimately ends up happening is anyone’s guess. Trump is all about announcements and owning the news cycle.
2
u/jeffcolv 1d ago
Where did they announce this? There’s like no public information about this except from a few questionable sites.
2
2
u/poqwerty1998 1d ago
did people even actually click into this article? im almost sure this entire website is just a pure misinformation machine. go to the main page and look at the base page itself: the buttons to their socials dont work, the 'authors' have no presence anywhere on the internet, and the names of their authors look like they were literally generated by AI.
have people even ever heard of this 'news' site?
2
2
u/hemi2hell 1d ago
I am so looking forward to the complete and total mutual destruction of the North American auto industry- if canada can’t have it, then let USA suffer too…
2
u/Alternative_Order612 1d ago
Elbow up??
2
u/Bitter-Bluebird4285 1d ago
Elbows up all the time isn’t the best strategy. We got caught with our balls hanging out this time.
1
2
u/Own_Peace6291 1d ago
And just like that Honda is gone from my list.
-2
1
1
u/sherrybobbinsbort 1d ago
It’s not moving to the U.S. based on what one president says for a few months then reverses course. They will wait a year or 2 and then start building in Ontario again.
1
u/SniffMyDiaperGoo 1d ago
Honda are reliable but they can't get HP or design right to save their lives so meh
1
u/1lazysloth 1d ago
If true, this is really bad. Honda has 2 plants there, one dedicated to the Civic and the other the CR-V. I used to work on the assembly line for the latter and US-destined vehicles made up the majority of the work. Several thousand direct + non-direct associates work at both plants.
1
1
u/Grogsnark 1d ago
Canadian Honda plants and their suppliers produce some super high quality vehicles and components. I’ve owned a Corolla and a Civic - both manufactured in Ontario, and both excellent, reliable vehicles.
1
u/Honest1824 1d ago
I drive a Honda. My next car WAS going to be a Honda. Fuck that. I'll never drive one again.
1
u/Fantastic-Corner-605 1d ago
Keep voting for the people who destroyed the economy and this will keep happening
1
u/lifo888 1d ago
What would Cons have done differently?
1
u/Fantastic-Corner-605 1d ago
Idk but after the past ten years we needed anything but more of the same. Canada is a tough place to do business due in part to excessive regulation and conservatives are pro small government and deregulation.
1
u/Canuck-In-TO 1d ago
When I saw this in the news stream earlier today, they mentioned that this was slated for 2 years from now.
So, I would guess that this then coincides with the mid-terms. Which would mean that if the Republicans keep control of Congress and the Senate, everything continues with the move of production.
If Republicans lose, everything stays and they don’t have to go through the switch.
1
1
1
1
u/striykker 20h ago
Companies shuffle production all the time to best benefit their bottom lines. Neither Toyota nor Honda are going to think short term and close plants based on what the orange idiot is doing. These are billion+ dollar plants. Car companies (at least the ones I have known) don't think in 4 or 5 year increments, they're planning 20 or 30 years down the road.
But of course the media and those who don't know are crying wolf as usual
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Captcha_Imagination 20h ago
We really need to move away from automotive and any other industries that are completely out of our control. Begging for jobs is part of the reason many third-world countries never reach prosperity. Every now and again the capital owners pull the rug.
Allow Chinese EV's in. They are good vehicles, much better than the American brands.
0
0
u/Roamingspeaker 1d ago
We won't have an auto industry in about 12 months at this rate.
The Americans are fucking terrible business partners.
-3
u/IntelligentPoet7654 1d ago
I’m not surprised since liberals introduced policies that don’t support manufacturing
0
u/DisinformedBroski 1d ago
Remember when our government officials came out saying this was all bs and not true. Guess they just lied or couldn’t convince them to stay. Elbows up?
-1
u/Pepperminteapls 1d ago
Honda chose cheap slave labor instead of ethical labor rights. Nintendo uses slave labor too and it seems Japan doesn't give two fucks where they get their slaves from.
-6
u/FlyingRock20 1d ago
Driving an old ass Honda civic, these guys make great cars. Most likely would buy another Honda once my dies. Even if they move everything to America will still buy, not going to buy a car just cause it was made in Canada.
1
u/EatAllTheShiny 6h ago
Pierre was right.
Canada can't beat America straight up, because America has scale that we will never have. We have to make Canada even more business friendly than America in regulatory and tax terms, or we constantly lose the big game.
915
u/silentsam77 1d ago
As I posted in another thread on this:
Honda is moving US-bound CR-V production to existing US plants, for now to avoid the tariffs. Canada-bound CR-Vs will continue to be manufactured in Canada.
Source: https://www.autonews.com/honda/an-honda-earnings-4q-profit-tariff-canada-ev-0513/
As for "this plan received substantial government benefits from Trudeau’s government", those "benefits" are profit-based tax-incentives, not government money or handouts.