GUANGZHOU, China, May 25, 2010 --- Guangqi Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., a Honda automobile production and sales joint venture in China, today announced plans to expand its annual production capacity from the current 360,000 units to 480,000 units in order to meet continuously growing demand in the Chinese market.

Guangqi Honda's current overall production capacity of 360,000 units includes 240,000 units at the HuangPu Plant and 120,000 units at the ZengCheng Plant. The company has decided to double the annual capacity of the ZengCheng Plant to 240,000 units by the latter-half of 2011.

To expand its production capacity, the ZengCheng Plant will add new equipment. In addition, Guangqi Honda aims to enhance the plant's standing as a state-of-the-art environmentally-responsible plant through various improvements including further advancement of the "complete wastewater recycling system," which was introduced to this plant in 2006 for the first time in the world for an automobile production plant.

The total investment for this expansion is expected to be approximately 930 million RMB. Guangqi Honda's total employment is expected to be increased from the current 6,800 to 8,000 associates.

Guangqi Honda began production in March 1999 with Accord. Since then the company has been expanding its product lineup by adding Odyssey in 2002, Fit in 2004 and City in 2006. In addition, the Crosstour will be added to the lineup before the end of 2010, and sales of the LI NIAN brand vehicle, Guangqi Honda's proprietary automobile brand, is scheduled to begin in 2011. By expanding its product lineup, Guangqi Honda will continue its effort to fulfill the increasingly diversifying needs of customers in the growing market of China.

Guangqi Honda's 2009 sales reached 365,000 units (up 19% over 2008), achieving an all-time record for the 10th consecutive year. Year-to-date sales (January through April 2010) reached 134,000 units (up 36% compared to the same period a year ago) showing steady growth again this year.

Combining Guangqi Honda's capacity expansion and the addition of Dongfeng Honda's second plant, scheduled to begin operations in the latter half of 2012 with annual production capacity of 60,000 units, Honda's overall annual automobile production capacity in China will be expanded from the current 650,000 units to 830,000 units by the latter half of 2012.