Honda to Produce New Civic Type R and Wagon in the UK, Next Jazz will be Imported to Europe

At a press conference during the 2012 Paris Motor Show last week, Honda Motor Europe’s President, Manabu Nishimae, announced the development and market introduction of two new Civic models, the performance Type R and the practical and roomier Wagon (estate).

Now, the Japanese automaker has confirmed that both of these two new derivatives of its compact model will be manufactured at the company’s UK plant in Swindon, which also uniquely produces the Civic five-door hatchback that is then exported throughout Europe and globally.

The VW Golf GTI-rivaling Civic Type R hot hatch is scheduled for production in 2015 while the Wagon, seen here in a teaser picture, will make its global debut as a thinly disguised concept most likely at the Geneva Salon in March or the Frankfurt Motor Show in September of 2013.

Honda said the development and design of the upcoming Civic Wagon was conducted locally in the European region.

The bad news for Honda’s Swindon plant is that the automaker has decided to produce the next generation of the Jazz, scheduled for 2013, outside of Europe.

The current version of the Jazz (known as the Fit in North American and other regions) for the European market is produced by the company’s Suzuka Factory in Japan, Honda Automobile Company China (CHAC) and the Swindon manufacturing facility in Britain.

According to Honda, the decision to stop building the Jazz in Europe was made to “benefit from production economies of scale” and to “fully utilize Honda’s global production resources”.

The automaker stated that production volume at Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) is forecast to remain unchanged at 182,000 for the financial year ending March 2013.

Honda recently announced a £267 million (€334 million or US$431 million) investment program into HUM to support the production of new Civic, the new CR-V for the European market and a new 1.6-liter turbo diesel engine that will power both of these models in Europe.

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