Honda to Build Acura Vehicles in China

Honda Motor Co. has reached a framework agreement to begin building vehicles for its Acura luxury brand in 2016 with Guangzhou Automobile Co. at their Chinese joint venture.

Honda says the partnership is likely to make the production version of the Acura Concept SUV-X small crossover it debuted at the Shanghai auto show in April. The model, which is designed primarily for the Chinese market, would be the first Acura vehicle produced there.

The 15-year-old 50:50 venture currently builds an array of Honda-badged sedans, subcompacts, crossovers and minivans. The partners also make the S1 subcompact for their China-only Everus brand.

The venture has combined annual capacity of 480,000 vehicles at two production lines in Guangzhou. It is adding a third line scheduled to open in 2015 with initial capacity of 120,000 units per year.

Honda intends to nearly double sales of its namesake and Acura marques in the country from 2011 levels to more than 1.2 million units by 2015. The company also has a Chinese car and engine venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co.