Honda has announced it will invest £200m in its Swindon production facility to secure its position as the global production hub for the new line of its Civic model.
The Civic five door will be produced in Swindon for the European market as well as being exported to key global markets.
The investment is reported to ensure the jobs of up to 3,000 employees.
Honda has been making cars a the Swindon plant since 1985, producing almost 120,000 vehicles last year, down on its peak period of about 230,000 vehicles in 2008.
According to a statement released by Honda, by developing the European facility into a global manufacturing hub for this model, Honda of UK Manufacturing (HUM) “will increase Civic volumes whilst developing improved economies of scale.”
The investment will be in new, advanced production technologies and processes, bringing 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,” said Jason Smith, director of HUM.
“This is incredibly important for HUM and is a reward for the commitment and effort put in by Honda Associates in recent years.
“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.”
COO and president of Honda Europe, Toshiaki Mikoshiba, said the move sent 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.”
“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,” he said.
