Honda Motor Co, Japan's third-largest car-maker, announced it will build another factory in Thailand after 2012 domestic sales set a new record there.
Models present Honda cars at the 29th Thailand Motor Expo. (Photo by Surapol Promsaka na Sakolnakorn)
The Tokyo-based car-maker will invest about 44.6 billion yen (US$476 million) in a new factory with a planned annual production capacity of 120,000 units, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Honda plans to begin operations at the plant in 2015 and build models such as the Civic compact and Accord sedan.
Honda's move to add capacity in Thailand comes as the automaker sold a record 171,208 units in the country last year, after recovering from the record flooding in the country that disrupted production in 2011.
Honda stocks rose 3.3%, its biggest gain in more than a month, to close at 3,580 yen on Wednesday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 3.8 percent and closed at its highest level since September 2008.
Separately, Suzuki Motor Corp said on Wednesday that it plans to begin production of vehicles in Myanmar in May, after getting permission to set up a subsidiary in that country.