Honda’s New Mini SUV to be Made in Argentina

Japanese automaker Honda said it plans to invest 250 million pesos ($29.5 million) to launch production of its new HR-V mini SUV in Argentina.

The president of Honda Motor de Argentina, Hideki Kamiyama, made the announcement during a meeting Tuesday with Argentine Industry Minister Debora Giorgi.

The company plans to begin manufacturing the HR-V in Argentina during the first four months of 2015 and churn out 15,000 units a year in that country.

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.

The automaker will initially manufacture the vehicle with 21 percent local content although it plans to gradually increase that proportion, the Industry Ministry said in a statement.

Separately, Kamiyama 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,” the statement said.

Published in Latino Daily News