Honda switches CR-V production to North America; USA will have domestic volume and Canada will export to other regions

The US government’s 25% tariffs on its neighbors are significantly altering vehicle production in North America and Honda is one of the automakers that has had to move its factories to alleviate cost pressure.

In a more radical measure, Honda will cut exports of the CR-V model made in the USA in favor of the Canadian unit, which will be responsible for all this task at the American unit, as well as serving the local market.

In return, Honda Canada will stop making the CR-V destined for the USA, thus switching production from the facility in East Liberty, Pennsylvania, to that of Oshawa, in the province of Ontario, according to TTAC.

This role reversal is necessary to avoid a flow of CR-Vs crossing the US-Canada border, which would result in a 25% tax excluding possible retaliations, as in Quebec.

In this way, Honda guarantees the maintenance of jobs on both sides of the border and also meets the demands of both countries, as well as the destinations that were reached from the states.

In this “0 × 0”, the USA loses in exports, while Canada gains, after all, it will reach new destinations abroad, on the other hand, it loses its biggest buyer, the USA.

Without importing CR-Vs, the USA maintains what it wants to do, that is, manufacture in the country and not bring anything from abroad.

In Canada, things are not as pretty as they seem, as Honda has postponed a major investment in the country, which would produce 250,000 cars per year and employ 1,000 more people.

In addition to the CR-V, the popular Civic may have the same fate, with 200,000 made annually in Canada, partly changing location.

Honda has another factory, north of Toronto, where it makes engines and this could also be affected.

For now, this industrial musical chairs only leads to uncertainty and losses, after all, it costs changing the volume of units and the destination of the cars made.