Honda announced today that it will manufacture the new Civic hatchback and the next generation of the CR-V SUV at its Swindon plant in the UK
The five-door hatchback version of the new Honda Civic, which we previewed earlier today (see here), is designed exclusively for Europe and will only be built in Swindon. The Civic was first introduced in 1972, and is now in its ninth generation. It will be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
Production of Honda’s European compact-sized hatchback will commence in late 2011, and sales will begin in early 2012. Like the current generation, it bears no resemblance to the US model. However, Honda has also patented the sedan version of the Civic in Europe so it could be offered alongside the hatch.
As for the European market version of the new CR-V, which was unveiled a few days ago as a concept model, it will go on sale in the fall of 2012. The production version will probably have little -if any- differences from both the concept and the US model that will reach showrooms by the end of the year.
In addition to the announcements concerning the manufacturing of the new Civic and CR-V at Swindon, Honda also revealed that production at its UK plant that had been disrupted due to shortage of parts after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami in Japan will return to normal levels in September.
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