Honda said on Tuesday (31 March) it was rearranging model sourcing for Europe, making its Swindon plant in England a global hub for the next generation five-door Civic while its Canadian plant in Alliston, Ontario would supply the next generation CR-V for Europe.
Swindon currently builds the Civic hatchback, CR-V and recently ran out the Jazz. The Jazz replacement – already on sale in many other markets – will come from Japan.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) will become a global production hub for the next generation Civic five door model, as Honda continues to develop its global production network to maximise the efficiency and quality of its manufacturing operations,” the automaker said in a statement.
Honda said the next Civic five door would be produced for Europe and exported to key global markets. A Japanese report earlier this month said this would include the US. The US has previously imported three-door Civics from England but a five-door has not been in the range there for several model generations.
Some UK Civics have been exported to other markets in the past, mainly Japan, South Africa and Australia. The plant has also exported the CR-V – a previous generation to the US and diesel versions of the current line to Australia while the outgoing Jazz was also made for Europe.
“By developing the European facility into a global manufacturing hub for this model, HUM will increase Civic volumes whilst developing improved economies of scale. The skills, knowledge and experience accrued by Honda [workers] since Civic production began at HUM over 20 years ago, will play an important role as HUM specialises in the production of the Civic model,” the automaker said.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataHonda will spend about GBP200m on new, production technologies and processes, further enhancing the Swindon plant. This brings Honda’s total spend on HUM – originally established as a pre-delivery centre – to over GBP2.2bn since 1985.
“By establishing HUM as a global production facility for the Civic five door, Honda is demonstrating its long term commitment to manufacturing in the UK and Europe,” the automaker said.
This is incredibly important for HUM and is a reward for the commitment and effort put in by Honda [workers] in recent years,” said Jason Smith, director of the Swindon plant.
“As a global production facility for the Civic five door model we look forward to making the most of the opportunity to export this model not only to our European customers, but also, to key global markets.”
“This announcement sends a clear message to our [workers] and suppliers of the strategic importance that Honda Motor places on producing cars at our plant in Swindon, UK,” said Toshiaki Mikoshiba, COO and President of Honda Motor Europe.
Announcing the European export deal in Ontario last night, Honda of Canada Mfg (HCM) said this would be the first time it would export vehicles to Europe.
The unit has just built its seven millionth vehicle since production began in 1986. The news followed the recent announcement it would spend C$857 on its Canadian facilities, as it prepares for production as the global lead plant for the next generation Civic, Canada’s best-selling passenger car for the past 17 years.
Honda is thrilled to once again have good news for automotive manufacturing in Canada by broadening our production portfolio to include exports to the European market,” said Jerry Chenkin, President and CEO of Honda Canada.
The automaker added: “This export plan leverages Honda’s previous investment announcement, therefore it does not require significant capital investment and the impact on jobs will be modest. However, the agreement marks an important broadening of HCM’s export destinations, it secures highly skilled jobs in the region and provides additional opportunities for Honda’s chain of 1,500 Canadian suppliers.”
“This decision to export CR-Vs was also made possible thanks to the government of Canada negotiating a free trade agreement with Europe under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). These opportunities will open new markets for our high quality vehicles from Canada and help keep us competitive in the global environment,” added Chenkin.
HCM has capacity for 390,000 Civic and CR-V models annually for the Canadian and North America markets, as well as for export. Of those, about 100,000 are sold in Canada.
HCM also produces 260,000 I4 engines a year.
