Demand for the New Honda CR-V Is so High, Honda Needed to Add yet Another Factory

Ever since its launch at the tail end of 2016, demand for the fifth-generation Honda CR-V has soared all across North America. In 2017, both American Honda and Honda Canada once again set all-time sales records with the CR-V, with Canadian sales rising 13 percent beyond the previous record result.

Of course, there is one problem with high demand. Honda has to meet that demand. Already, the CR-V is assembled in Greensburg, Indiana, and right here in Canada - in Alliston, Ontario, to be precise. But when it comes time to meet ever higher demand, it's not as easy as flicking a switch. And new factories - which need regulatory approval, a lengthy build, and then extensive training - don't pop up overnight.

Fortunately, Honda's New Manufacturing System means that Honda was the first automaker (way back in 2000) to ever build SUVs and minivans on the same line, a milestone Honda achieved right here in Canada. In 2008, former Chrysler CFO and Harwinton Capital investor Jerry York was quoted complimenting the Honda system: "They have total model flexibility. They can go from building 100 percent Accords on Friday, to 100 percent Civics on Monday," CBS Moneywatch reports.

Fast forward to 2018 and Honda is for the first time bringing SUV production to its passenger car assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio, where the Accord and a pair of Acuras, ILX and TLX, are currently assembled. Those cars will continue to be built in Ohio as Honda brings the CR-V online in yet another plant to better meet demand. All of this eventually results in more Canadian-built CR-Vs filling the supply chain that leads to CR-Vs being available at Centennial Honda in Summerside, 1,800 kilometres away.

It's this sort of ingenious response to a manufacturing challenge that is also represented in the design of the CR-V. Still perfectly sized for parking in downtown Charlottetown or squeezing into your garage, the CR-V is nevertheless huge inside: 40 inches of rear legroom, 1,110 litres of cargo capacity behind the rear seats, 2,146 litres of cargo space overall.

The 2018 Honda CR-V range consists of the CR-V LX in front and all-wheel-drive forms plus three higher-grade CR-Vs: EX, EX-L, and Touring. All models feature an advanced turbocharged 1.5-liter engine that produces wads of torque and achieves remarkable fuel efficiency as high as 7.0 L/100km on the highway. All four AWD models also include a meaningful Honda Sensing safety suite: Lane Keeping Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Collision Mitigation Braking System, and Road Departure Mitigation.

Globally, Honda also builds the CR-V in China, England, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand.