Japanese automaker Honda has pushed back against reports that it is preparing to move all car production from Mexico and Canada to the United States in response to new U.S. tariffs.
On Tuesday, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Honda was considering relocating some vehicle assembly from its plants in Mexico and Canada to the U.S. The move, reportedly aimed at enabling Honda to meet 90% of its U.S. sales with locally produced vehicles, was said to be a response to the 25% tariff on imported vehicles imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard responded immediately to the news in a social media post, saying Honda executives in Mexico told him there had been no changes in production plans.
Anita Anand, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, had a similar reaction, writing in a social media post of her own that “Honda has communicated that no such production decisions affecting Canadian operations have been made, and are not being considered at this time.”
Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he would be talking to Honda later Tuesday to clarify the situation.
By Tuesday evening, both Honda Mexico and Honda Canada communicated to members of the news media that no decisions had been made to alter production at their respective plants. “No production decisions impacting our facilities in Mexico have been made, nor are any under consideration,” Honda Mexico said in a statement. Honda Canada echoed this, stating, “Honda Canada is not contemplating any modifications at this moment.”
Despite the denials, the rumors have unsettled officials in both countries, particularly following Honda’s earlier decision to relocate production of its bestselling model from Mexico to the U.S.
In early March, Reuters reported that Honda had scrapped plans to build its next-generation Civic at its factory in Celaya, Guanajuato. The production had been set to begin in November 2027.
Mexico had reportedly been chosen for the Civic — recently named the 2025 North American Car of the Year — because rising costs were making it tough to produce the car in Indiana and Canada. Instead, Honda is set to produce the car at its Greensburg, Indiana, plant and is expected to begin churning out around 210,000 vehicles each year beginning in March 2028.
Nearly 40% of Honda’s global sales were in the U.S., the company’s biggest market in 2024. About two-fifths of the 1.4 million Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. last year were imported from Mexico and Canada.
With reports from Reforma, Milenio, El Universal and Reuters
