Honda Development & Manufacturing of America has filed an Ohio EPA permit application identifying roughly 300 acres in Liberty Township, Union County, as the proposed site of a massive new hybrid-vehicle plant that would employ about 3,000 people. The Oct. 7 filing — first reported by Marysville Matters — places the “Project Sunrise” facility south of Rapp-Dean Road and west of Johnson Road, between Honda’s Marysville and East Liberty assembly plants.
According to the application, Honda already owns the land, and the filing lays out a construction timeline running from Jan. 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2029. The plant would build hybrid Honda and Acura models, deepening central Ohio’s role in the automaker’s electrified future.
A Honda spokesman confirmed the application’s authenticity but cautioned that no final investment decision has been made, while sources cited in the reporting say an official announcement is expected soon. The filing follows September reports from Nikkei and Reuters that Honda is planning a $1.9-to-$2.53 billion Ohio hybrid plant with production targeted for 2030.
If built, the Union County facility would rank among the largest single manufacturing investments in the region’s history — adding thousands of jobs to a corridor already anchored by two Honda assembly plants.
