Las Vegas, October 12, 2004 - Takeo Fukui, the president and CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., today announced at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) 2004 conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada that its new aviation subsidiary, Honda Aero, Inc., started its operation as of October 1, in Reston, VA, in the vicinity of Washington DC. 

Honda Aero, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., will be responsible for Honda's aviation engine business, including such functions as procurement, and preparations for production. The company holds a 50 percent share of GE Honda Aero Engines LLC, the new joint venture with General Electric Co. (GE), which will commercialize the HF118 turbofan jet engine. Honda and GE has signed the Joint Venture Agreement for GE Honda Aero Engines LLC today. 

Honda's research efforts for small jet engines and jet aircraft began in 1986. Development of the Honda HF118 engine, which fits in the smallest category of the business jet engine class, began in 1999. Full-scale flight tests of the HF118 engine have been conducted aboard Honda's prototype HondaJet aircraft, since December 2003. 

The HF118 engine is designed for light business jets, a category with an estimated annual market of 150 to 200 units, and where further growth is expected in the future. 

Honda and GE, the world's largest jet engine manufacturer, signed a basic agreement February 16, 2004, to jointly pursue commercialization of Honda's HF118 jet engine. Issues such as marketing strategy, business structure and production have been under discussion.