Honda Launches Florida Marine Office
Honda Motor Co., Ltd., in coordination with American Honda Motor Co., Inc., just opened its Florida Marine Office (FMO) for Honda Marine, a division of Honda Power Sports & Products (PS&P), at the company’s existing R&D Test Facility in Grant-Valkaria, Florida. The office brings together Honda global and regional teams in a market-critical hub near U.S. boat builders, dealers, customers and real-world operating conditions.
“The Florida Marine Office is a strategic investment in how Honda Marine develops products and supports the people who sell and use them,” said Josh Matthews, Director, Honda Marine Division, in a news release. “The Honda Marine strategy continues to focus on disciplined growth—bringing the right technology, dependable performance and a stronger ownership experience to boaters and boat builders. By connecting our company’s global engineering expertise with real-world insight from within Florida, we can accelerate rigging and validation work, strengthen our large-outboard capabilities and respond more quickly to the changing needs of the U.S. market.”
A Strong Marine Foundation
The new FMO builds on a strong foundation of nearly two decades of specialized marine research within Honda R&D Americas and the broader global Honda R&D network, according to the company, centered at the existing, 11,000-square-foot waterfront Honda Marine facility, located on the Intracoastal Waterway in Grant-Valkaria, Florida. Operational since December 2008, the site has supported hands-on market research, engine testing, software design and data acquisition across Honda outboards ranging from 2.3 to 350 horsepower.
Most Honda outboard engines sold in the United States undergo evaluation at the facility to help optimize fuel efficiency, throttle response and marine reliability. The centralized location in Florida places engineers close to a major boating market, key marine-industry partners and year-round conditions for on-water testing, the company notes.
Leading the product planning, field engineering and development teams for the new Honda FMO are Go Tanaka and Chad Nere, who emphasize the importance of locating the team in Grant-Valkaria.
“By locating global and regional resources together, the new Honda FMO creates a tighter connection among product planning, development, market feedback and validation—shortening the path from insight on the water to practical solutions for boat builders, dealers and customers,” said Tanaka, Chief Engineer, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and Nere, Honda Marine Department Manager, Honda PS&P Development Division, in the release. “The result will be stronger collaboration, deeper technical support and a more complete understanding of the markets we serve.”
Broadening Honda’s Footprint in the U.S.
The Grant-Valkaria operation is a specialized branch of Honda R&D Americas, part of the broad Honda research and development footprint in the United States. Across 23 R&D facilities nationwide, Honda teams advance mobility and power products through full-vehicle engineering, design, proving-ground evaluation, artificial intelligence, advanced technology research and specialized product testing. Within that larger enterprise, the Florida Marine Office serves as a focused marine hub: on-water evaluation and local market knowledge from the United States can inform global planning and engineering, while expertise and resources from Japan can be applied more directly to U.S. product, rigging and customer-support priorities.
The Honda Florida Marine Office initially includes existing Florida-based Honda R&D associates, Honda Motor associates assigned from Japan, and two newly created Honda PS&P associate positions, according to the company. Working as an integrated team, this group will connect field observations, boat-builder input and U.S. market requirements with global product planning, engineering and validation resources. Sales and service operations for Honda Marine will remain in Alpharetta, Georgia.
“The new Florida Marine Office represents a strategic investment in the future of Honda Marine and our broader vision for a more integrated Power Sports & Products organization in North America,” said John Stevens, Vice President of Honda PS&P Business and Sales, in the news release. “By bringing more of our product planning and development resources closer to the market, we can translate customer and partner insights into better products, stronger support and faster decision-making. This positions Honda Marine for sustained growth while delivering the products our customers want.”
Located at 6545 S U.S. Highway 1, in Grant-Valkaria, Florida, the Honda Marine testing facility earned LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2010. More recently, the Honda Marine division’s engineering and service focus—largely validated by testing done at the Grant-Valkaria site—earned Honda Marine the prestigious 2025 Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Award from the National Marine Manufacturers Association, according to the company.
