Company overview. Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. (HAM, often "Honda of America Mfg.") is the U.S. automobile-manufacturing subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (TSE: 7267; NYSE: HMC), headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. Honda's own filings state HAM was established in February 1978 and began passenger-car production in November 1982, making it the first Japanese automaker to build cars in the U.S. Honda's disclosures put HAM employment at roughly 12,500 as of the late 2000s. On April 1, 2021, HAM was consolidated with Honda's other U.S. manufacturing, purchasing, and auto-development entities into a new Ohio-based company, Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, LLC (HDMA), so HAM no longer operates as a standalone entity.
Products / operations. HAM operated automobile, engine, and transmission plants in Ohio (Marysville, East Liberty, and the Anna Engine Plant), producing Honda and Acura models including Accord, Civic, CR-V, and Acura sedans/SUVs, plus engines and powertrain components supplied to Honda plants across North America. It functioned as the manufacturing arm under the American Honda Motor Co., Inc. regional umbrella (Torrance, California).
Patent-litigation posture. HAM is an operating company, not a patent-assertion entity: the tracked data shows one case, as defendant (1 defendant / 0 plaintiff), consistent with an automaker defending against infringement claims. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where American Honda is headquartered, not a notable NPE venue cluster.
Notable case. In American Calcar, Inc. v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. et al. (No. 06-cv-02433, S.D. Cal., filed 2006), NPE American Calcar asserted a portfolio of patents covering in-vehicle multimedia and vehicle-information systems (navigation, maintenance alerts, service-provider selection) against Honda. The district court found the asserted patents unenforceable due to the inventor's inequitable conduct in withholding prior art, and the Federal Circuit affirmed in Am. Calcar v. Am. Honda Motor Co., 768 F.3d 1185 (Fed. Cir. 2014).