U.S. to Export Honda Motorbikes : Shipments of Compact Cars to Japan May Be Next Step

In one of the most impressive signs that the rapid rise in the value of the Japanese yen is helping to improve American competitiveness, Honda said Wednesday that it will begin exporting U.S.-built motorcycles to Japan early next year.

Honda officials also hinted that the motorcycle export project may be the first step in the company’s larger plan to export U.S.-built compact cars to Japan within the next two or three years. Company officials noted that Honda traditionally tests new ideas in its motorcycle business before they are used by its automotive division.

Honda officials said the rise in the yen’s value against the dollar has made it possible to produce motorcycles in the United States that are cost-competitive with those built in Japan. As a result, the company said, it plans to send an initial shipment of 500 U.S.-built Gold Wing touring motorcycles to Japan in early 1988.

Shinichi Tanaka, a Honda spokesman in Detroit, said Honda has not decided how many motorcycles it will export on an annual basis but added that the firm is “committed to continuing our exports beyond the initial 500.”

Existing Markets Abroad

Honda produces the motorcycles in Marysville, Ohio, in a plant adjacent to its auto assembly facility; it builds the engines for the motorcycles in Anna, Ohio. It already exports its Ohio-built motorcycles to 14 countries, including Great Britain, Australia and Canada, and it exports lawn mowers from the United States as well.

Honda, which has been rapidly expanding its U.S. manufacturing operations over the last few years, began exporting U.S.-built Accord compact cars to Taiwan early this year and is waiting to see if the yen’s value stabilizes in its current trading range to determine whether to go ahead with exports to Japan. With the yen’s rise, the costs of producing cars for export at Honda’s Japanese plants have increased to such an extent that the Marysville complex is now on an equal cost footing with Honda’s Japanese facilities, company officials say.

Meanwhile, Honda also said Wednesday that the rise in the yen’s value had prompted the company to raise its car prices by an average of 1.5%, or $152 per car. Since the yen began its rapid upward climb in September, 1985, Honda and the other major Japanese auto makers have increased their U.S. prices by an average of about 20%.