Honda Odyssey (North America)

The Honda Odyssey is a minivan manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda and marketed for the North American market. Introduced in 1994, the Odyssey is now in its fifth generation, which began in 2018.[1] The Odyssey was conceived and engineered in Japan after the country's economic crisis of the 1990s, which constrained the vehicle's size and concept and dictated its manufacture in an existing facility with minimal modification.[2] The result was a smaller minivan, in the compact MPV class, that was well received in the Japanese domestic market,[2] but less well received in North America.[3] The first-generation Odyssey was marketed in Europe as the Honda Shuttle.[citation needed] Subsequent generations diverged to reflect market variations, and Honda built a plant in Lincoln, Alabama, United States, that could manufacture larger models.[3] Since model year 1999, Honda has marketed a larger (large MPV-class) Odyssey in North America and a smaller Odyssey in Japan and other markets. Until 2005, the North American Odyssey was also sold in Japan as the LaGreat (ラグレイト, Ragureito) until 2005. Both versions of the Odyssey were sold in Japan at Honda Clio dealership locations. Both versions of the Odyssey are currently sold in the Middle East.[4]