New Honda SUT Light Truck to Be Made in Canada

All Odyssey Production Shifting to South to Alabama in Fall

Honda has chosen Alliston, Ontario, the Japanese automakers Canadian Odyssey minivan production facility, as the plant for its new SUT sport utility pickup. Thats the good news. The bad news, for Alliston workers at least, is that all Odyssey production will be moved south of the border to Lincoln, Alabama this fall.

Why could this be potentially bad news for Ontario and good news for Alabama? The Odyssey is a proven seller, near the top of its class. The SUT is a niche product at best, not expected to sell in anywhere near the numbers of the practical minivan, which incidentally will get a thorough upgrade this fall and most likely improve its position in the market.

The Canadian plant will retain the two other light truck models being built there, including the Acura MDX and Honda Pilot. The latter model will also be produced in Alabama, making it the only light truck being dual-sourced by Honda.

According to Koki Hirashima, President of Honda of America Mfg. (HAM), Honda will benefit from the added flexibility between the two plants.

"We will soon have the capability to produce light trucks flexibly among three production lines at two plants in Alabama and Canada," said Hirashima, responsible for Hondas manufacturing operations in North America. "This will further enhance our ability to respond more flexibly and quickly to the needs of our customers."

With the SUT, Honda is becoming a full-line light truck-maker, offering six separate models between its Honda and Acura nameplates - the Honda Odyssey, CR-V, Pilot, Element, and Acura MDX completing the lineup.

While Hondas light truck lineup hardly rivals that of General Motors, Ford or Toyota, the Japanese brand that was originally only a carmaker has definitely diversified over the last decade.

The question remains though, will light truck buyers gravitate towards the new SUT? Its radical Element has only seen moderate sales success, while even the highly functional Pilot SUV doesnt measure up to sales of domestic rivals or the Toyota Highlander for instance.

The SUTs styling is odd at best, with funky lines that may not turn on traditional truck buyers. Honda is, of course, relying on non-traditional truck buyers to opt over to this segment when the SUT, a car-like alternative becomes available. This was Subarus plan too, but sales of its Baja, a pickup truck version of the popular Legacy-based Outback wagon, have been flat.

Honda, while producing automotive hit after hit over the last three decades, has had its share of duds too. Remember the 1993 to 97 Civic del Sol? Probably not. It replaced the extremely popular Civic-based CRX sport hatch of the 1980s and early 90s, and fell flat on its pudgy little face. Hondas Accord hatchback was also a no-go here in North America, other than the first generation car that quickly became the sporty alternative to VWs Scirocco.

Only time will tell if the SUT is a big seller or a sales flop, but either way Honda should be commended for its innovation in a volatile market. The SUT will fill a vehicle niche that no other automaker felt there was a need to fill - a recipe for either ultimate success or disastrous failure.

No matter how well it does in sales, buyers will at least most likely be rewarded with stellar reliability. Honda is the top rated non-premium brand in J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) and the same organizations Initial Quality Survey (IQS), achieving 6th and 4th place finishes respectively out of 37 automakers.