Honda to Make U.K. Its Global Source for Civic 5-Door Hatch

Honda Motor Co. says it will invest 200 million (€277 million) to prepare its underutilized Swindon factory in the U.K. to be the global source for its next-generation five-door Civic small car.

Honda also will shift output of the redesigned CR-V small crossover from Swindon to Ontario, Canada. The CR-V is Honda's best-seller in Europe. The company says moving production to Canada was prompted by the Canada-EU trade agreement. The Canadian facility has capacity to make 390,000 CR-Vs and Civic sedans.

The Swindon facility currently assembles the CRV, Civic hatchback and Civic Tourer crossover. The facility has capacity to make 250,000 vehicles per year, but it produced only 120,000 units in 2014.

Honda says it expects to make 120,000 Civics in Swindon, half of which will be shipped to markets beyond Europe. Earlier this month The Nikkei reported the facility will ship 30,000-40,000 Civic hatchbacks to the U.S.