Honda to Resume Civic Small-Car Production in Japan

Honda Motor Co. is relaunching output of its Civic small sedan in Japan and reviving sales of the car in its home market after a seven-year hiatus.

The company tells reporters in Tokyo that reintroducing the Civic in Japan will help broaden the company’s image there, where it has become known primarily for minicars and minivans. The company announced last February it was considering a return to local Civic production.

Honda halted domestic Civic output in 2010 because of sluggish demand. The company says it hopes the more stylish current model will revive consumer interest in the nameplate.

The move also could enable Honda to ship some Japanese-made Civics to the U.S., thereby freeing up capacity in North America to build hot-selling crossover vehicles. The company tells reporters it won’t consider that option until the incoming Trump administration clarifies its trade policy.

Honda’s North American Civic production is located in Greensburg, Ind., and Alliston, Ontario. Civic sales in the U.S. last year rose 9% to 366,900 units, according to Autodata Corp.