Honda's new Accord, the 11th edition of the car, is more than just a new version of a car that Honda has been making since the 1970s.

The automaker is betting on the car to help it make the transition from cars powered by gasoline to electricity.

Honda and its associates officially celebrated the start of mass production of the new Accord Thursday at a ceremony at the Marysville Auto Plant where Accords have been made since Honda began producing cars in the U.S. 40 years ago. The plant is Honda's only North American operation where the Accord is made.

Beyond refinements to the car, Honda said half of the new Accords that it will make will be hybrids as the automaker pushes ahead with its plans for electric vehicles. In 2021, by contrast, less than 15% of Accords sold in the U.S. were hybrids.

The previous Accord had a hybrid version, but this one is better, said Scott Roe, Honda's engineering project leader for the car.

"We had the hybrid before the '23 model but we didn’t feel like it was what the customers really wanted," he said. "We wanted to make this more powerful and smoother. We wanted to make this hybrid be the good bridge between the normal gas engine and the battery electric.

"So when customers get to these cars they can drive the hybrid, and that way, five years down the road, they’re more apt to get into a battery electric and they’re not going to be as scared. They're going to be driving this hybrid and they’re going to be like ‘This is great.'"

Honda executives and several hundred associates at the plant cheered as six associates pulled a tarp off the new Accord at the end of the 20-minute ceremony.

"I'm certain that this period ... will be viewed as an important moment in our company’s history as we continue to transition and evolve to meet the demands and expectation of our customers,’’ said Jun Jayaraman, the Marysville Auto Plant leader.

What's new on the new Accord?

Beyond the hybrid version, the new Accord comes with Google Assistant that allows users to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. Users can talk to Google to call or text a friend, control their media, set reminders, change the temperature in the car, or navigate to the next destination.

Roe said like previous versions of the Accord, there are refinements throughout the interior and exterior of the vehicle. The last time the car was updated was the 2018 model.

The new car is longer and sleeker with a modern and sporty interior, Honda says.

"If you liked the previous generation, you’re going to like this one that much more,’’ Roe said.

The Accord LX has a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price of $27,295, excluding the $1,095 destination charge. The hybrid-electric powered 2023 Accord Sport starts at $31,895.

The hybrid version gets 51 miles per gallon in the city and 48 miles per gallon combined city-highway driving.

The Accord will arrive in dealerships this month.

Like other automakers in 2022, sales of Honda vehicles were lower because of ongoing supply chain problems.

Honda sold 154,612 new Accords in the U.S. in 2022, down 24% from '21, according to the automaker. In December though, sales were up 28.9% compared with the prior year, totaling 18,606 cars.

December was the best monthly sales total for the Accord in 2022.

New Accord follows Honda's announcement of EV battery plant

Honda has trailed other automakers when it comes to the transition to electric vehicles, but is working to catch up.

The automaker announced in October its plans with South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution to build a $3.5 billion plant in Fayette County southwest of Columbus that will make batteries for electric vehicles.

It also plans to spend $700 million to retool three of its Ohio plants − Marysville, the East Liberty Auto Plant and the Anna Engine Plant − to make electric vehicles and provide components for them.

Honda and LG plan to have the plant finished by the end of 2024. Production of pouch-type, lithium-ion batteries is scheduled to begin by the end of 2025.

The battery plant will employ 2,200 workers, and the other plants will add 327 workers.

Honda plans to begin production of EVs in 2026. The automaker has set a goal of all of its sales coming from battery-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles by 2040, and becoming carbon neutral for all products and corporate activities by 2050.

New Accord continues long history of Accord production in Marysville

The 1983 model-year Accord was the first vehicle Honda produced at the Marysville Auto Plant when Honda started auto production in the U.S. and North America.

The version before that was made only in Japan.

"Forty years of a special relationship between Honda and the state of Ohio," said Gov. Mike DeWine, who was on hand for the celebration and spent time shaking hands and taking selfies with the workers.

Honda began manufacturing operations in North America in 1979 with motorcycle production in Marysville.

Since auto production began on Nov. 1, 1982, the facility has built more than 12.5 million Accords.

"All these years cars were made in this sleepy, little backwoods part of Ohio," said Rick VanGundy, a 40-year Honda employee and one of the associates who helped remove the tarp off the new Accord.

VanGundy, 63, of Cridersville in northwest Ohio, now works at Honda's engine plant in Anna.

"I'm amazed," he said, recalling the long list of Honda vehicles made in the plant.

It shows, he said, "just how good we make cars here."

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What's new in the latest Honda Accord made in Marysville?