Honda to invest $30m in Latin American manufacturing

Japanese automaker Honda plans to invest 250 million pesos ($29.5 million) in Latin American manufacturing. The company has announced it will be producing its new HR-V mini SUV in Argentina.

The president of Honda Motor de Argentina, Hideki Kamiyama, made the announcement, saying the company plans to begin manufacturing the HR-V in Argentina during the first four months of 2015 and deliver 15,000 units by the end of the year.

Production of the new vehicle, which is nearly identical to the Honda Vezel that hit the Japanese market in late 2013, will take place at Honda’s plant in the city of Campana, Buenos Aires province.

Kamiyama also announced that in mid-November Honda’s Argentine subsidiary will begin exporting its CBX 250 motorcycle, known in South America as the Twister, to Peru.

Honda plans to export a total of 1,760 motorcycles valued at $4.2 million to that market and has already confirmed an initial shipment of 624 units.

“Additionally, feasibility studies have been launched to increase local motorcycle production for export to different regional countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia, as well as Peru,” said the company in a statement.