Civic pride heads to Japan

SALES of the Swindon-built, three-door Civic Type R have begun in Japan, after the first cars were shipped from Southampton last month.A move to sell the hot hatchback in Japan—where only the saloon version of the Civic Type R was sold previously&mda

SALES of the Swindon-built, three-door Civic Type R have begun in Japan, after the first cars were shipped from Southampton last month.

A move to sell the hot hatchback in Japan—where only the saloon version of the Civic Type R was sold previously—has handed a huge boost in demand for Honda's UK factory, in Swindon, which suffered temporary closures earlier this year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The decision to sell the European-built Civic in Japan follows on from introductions in Australia and South Africa earlier this year.

The export of the Type R model marks the second time since 2001 that the European-built Civic has been sold in the Japanese home market. Just 2,010 of these Milano Red, Alabaster Silver or Championship White machines, will be available to Honda enthusiasts in Japan.

The Swindon factory that produces the Type R also produces the rest of the Civic 3 and 5-door range as well as the CR-V SUV. This autumn, the state of the art factory commenced production of the popular Jazz model to cope with increased demand from European markets.