Honda Indiana touts flexibility as production continues under Trump tariffs
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Newly completed Honda CR-V TrailSports sit at the end of the assembly line at Honda’s Indiana Auto Plant in Greensburg on May 23, 2025. (Marek Mazurek/IIB)
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A worker makes adjustments to a vehicle frame at Honda’s Indiana Auto Plant in Greensburg on May 23, 2025. (Marek Mazurek/IIB)
As the dust settles on Donald Trump-induced speculation about Honda’s plans in the U.S., the Japanese automaker continues to stay the course at its Indiana Auto Plant in Greensburg.
Last week, the Japanese automaker unveiled the new model CR-V TrailSport Hybrid that it will make at the Greensburg facility.
“We’ve been building the CR-V since 2017 but the CR-V TrailSport is brand new for Honda,” Roxanna Metz, Honda’s vice president of operations in Greensburg, told reporters. “That Honda trusted the Indiana Auto Plant enough to build this brand new CR-V TrailSport says a lot about their their dedication to us at Indiana Auto Plant.”
The Indiana Auto Plant boasts 1.3 million square feet of factory space and just shy of 2,700 workers. The factory makes about 1,000 vehicles per day for a yearly capacity of around 250,000, Metz said.
The plant also makes the Civic Hatchback Hybrid—a semi-electric version of the Honda Civic. The Civic Hatchback model has made headlines amid tariffs from the Trump Administration. Honda had been making the Civic Hatchback both in Indiana and Japan, but due to Trump’s announced 25% auto tariffs, the company announced last month it will shift production entirely to Greensburg.
“That decision was made because we had been building the Civic Hybrid and then [we went] to dual source,” said Metz. “So because of the uncertainty of tariffs…we wanted to make sure that we could be more flexible bring it back to Indiana, but we also have that flexibility that we can build it anywhere.”
Metz added there are currently no plans to radically expand Honda’s factory in Greensburg or to add a new plant in Indiana, as President Trump suggested in a speech before Congress in March.
Trump was likely referring to a report from Reuters that Honda is planning to make its new model Civic in Greensburg, as opposed to Mexico, starting in a few years. Honda officials did not make any announcements regarding future Civic production plans when reporters toured the plant Friday.
After rising sales in the U.S. in the past few years, Honda has recently projected a huge 70% decrease in its operating profit over the coming year as the Japanese company expects it will be hit hard by Trump’s tariffs.
TrailSport specs
The Greensburg plant was humming on Friday as workers guided vehicle frames along the factory’s assembly line. Many of the frames were for the new CR-V TrailSport model, which Honda engineering project leader Ben Hertzinger said is designed for stronger off-road performance.
“We have added some software adjustments to the traction control system, and it does a better job at low speeds, of redirecting power from a wheel that slips to one of the wheels that’s actually gripping,” he said. “So as a team, we’ve done some testing in comparison with current ’25 model gear versus this out in California, and you saw some real good results.”
For other Honda vehicles like the Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, the TrailSport variety equates to about 20% of the lines’ total sales. The company said it will adjust its production levels to sales numbers as needed, but the CR-V should see the most total TrailSport units made out of other models, but the percentage of CR-Vs that are TrailSports may end up being the lowest.
Hertzinger added the Greensburg plant was a natural fit for the TrailSport due to its capacity and experience making the CR-V.