British built Hondas poised for the first exports to Japan
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On the production line:
Honda start to export the new Civic model |
October has been a big month for putting Swindon on the worldwide map, as Honda gears up production from its newly expanded car plant by starting to export its new Civic model, and unveiling the latest version of its award-winning CR-V at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The first shipment of British built Honda Civics destined for Japan, set sail from Southampton on the 2nd October just three weeks after the company's second UK car plant opened in the town.
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On the road:
The first Honda shipment to Japan |
A total of 150 of the high performance Civic Type Rs left for Japanese showrooms, the first of 5,000 destined for Honda's home market in the next 12 months.
The second phase of Honda's UK export drive starts in December with the first Civic 3 door exports to the US and Canada followed by shipments of the new CR-V four wheel drive model in spring 2002.
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All aboard:
Civics on the way to Japan |
Once Honda's export drive is in full swing, the 4,000 employees at Swindon will be responsible for producing a total of 200,00 vehicles, worth £2 billion for markets around the world, taking 80% of Swindon's total capacity of 250,000 cars.
Commenting on the first exports to Japan, Ken Keir, Managing Director of Honda UK said, "This export strategy represents Honda's response to the rapidly changing business environment in Europe. Three key factors had to be achieved to meet the requirements for Japan - quality, price and production flexibility. Swindon has met all of these and can confidently take its place as part of Honda's global supply network.
"The new plant is a world class car manufacturing facility and Swindon has now become a key element in the company's Global Supply Network. The twin plants - with a combined capacity of 250,000 units per annum - will together account for 8% of Honda's global need" Mr Keir added.
Honda of the UK Manufacturing Ltd.
