Honda Motor : of the UK Manufacturing Confirms Future Production Activities

• Honda's European production facility to become global production hub for next generation Civic five door
• New £200 million investment
• Long-term vision for European plant in Honda's global operations

March 31, 2015 - Honda's flagship production facility in Europe, 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 maximize the efficiency and quality of its manufacturing operations.

The Civic five door will be produced for the European market as well as being exported to key global markets. Further, 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 Associates since Civic production began at HUM over 20 years ago, will play an important role as HUM specializes in the production of the Civic model.

Honda will invest over £200 million into new, advanced production technologies and processes, further enhancing Honda's European manufacturing facilities. This new contribution brings Honda's total investment in HUM to over £2.2billion 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.

This is incredibly important for HUM and is a reward for the commitment and effort put in by Honda Associates in recent years," said Jason Smith, Director of HUM. "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."

As HUM develops into a specialist Civic production facility, the next generation CR-V will be manufactured at Honda of Canada Manufacturing (HCM), in Ontario and CR-V will be imported to Europe.

"This announcement sends a clear message to our Associates and suppliers of the strategic importance that Honda Motor Company places on producing cars at our plant in Swindon, UK" said Toshiaki Mikoshiba, COO and President of Honda Motor Europe. "We will continue to provide high quality products to meet the expectations of our European customers and having just unveiled four new models for the European market, we look forward with renewed optimism and purpose for Honda in Europe."