In the market: Alabama Honda factory to start producing Accords

Honda Motor Co. says it will convert one of the two assembly lines at its Lincoln, Ala., factory so it can make V-6-powered Honda Accords by the middle of next year.

The plant now makes the Odyssey minivan and Pilot sport utility vehicle.

Company spokesman Ed Miller says Honda will cut 8,000 vehicles from production at the Lincoln plant in November because sales have softened.

The conversion to Accords in Alabama frees more space for Honda’s plant in Marysville, Ohio, to build more fuel-efficient four-cylinder Accords. The company also says it will increase production of four-cylinder engines at its factory in Anna, Ohio.

Nissan to lay off 37 percent of workforce in Spain

A Nissan official says the Japanese car manufacturer will lay off 1,680 workers at one of its plants in Spain because of poor demand.

Fumiaki Matsumoto, the company’s vice president in Spain, says the job cuts will occur at its Barcelona factory, which assembles 4x4 vehicles.

Matsumoto says that will affect about 37 percent of Nissan’s workforce in Spain.

Last month, car sales in Spain fell by 32 percent from a year earlier. Matsumoto says Nissan’s production in Barcelona for 2009 is estimated at 110,000, down 83,000 vehicles from the 2007 figure.

Matsumoto told a news conference in Barcelona recently that increased fuel costs, difficulty raising loans and new carbon dioxide limitations have all contributed to a downturn in the world’s 4x4 vehicle market.