Dongfeng Honda '09 sales up 28% to 210,601 units

Shanghai, January 11 (Gasgoo.com) Dongfeng Honda, a joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Group and Honda Motor, sold 210,601 vehicles last year, up 28.4% from a year earlier, media said over the weekend.

Honda Motor on Friday said that its China sales in 2009 rose 22.5% to 576,223 units from 470,458 units in 2008. Sales in December hit 59,002 units, up 42.3% from a year earlier. The sales were mainly achieved by the Japanese carmaker's two joint ventures in China. 

In addition to its manufacturing base in central China's Wuhan city with Dongfeng Motor Group, Honda operates two final vehicle-assembly plants in southern city of Guangzhou. Those plants of Guangzhou Honda have combined capacity to produce 360,000 cars a year.

Selling more than 210,000 vehicles last year, Dongfeng Honda is getting close to using up the capacity of a plant it operates in the city of Wuhan. That venture's sales are likely to exceed the plant's maximum capacity of 240,000 units this year.

To expand its production capacity in China, Honda plans to build a new plant in the world largest auto market to keep up with surging demand. The 100,000-unit new plant in Wuhan could begin production by the end of 2011.

According to executives, Dongfeng Honda is likely to produce the Honda Civic car at the planned new plant. The venture currently produces three Honda-branded models, including the CR-V crossover and the Civic car.