British-Built Honda Civic Type R To Be Sold In Japan As Well

In an interesting twist of fate, the all-new Honda Civic Type R, which is exclusively built in the UK, will be exported to the Japanese market as well. The announcement was made by new Honda Motor Company CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, in his inaugural speech.

The first Honda Civic Type R vehicles to be shipped from Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) are expected to arrive in Japanese showrooms starting this autumn. These are obviously great times for the Swindon plant, as the news follows the recent announcement of a new £200 million investment at the plant, which will become the global production hub for the next generation Civic five door model.

“We’re delighted that the European Civic Type R will be sold to customers in Honda’s home country of Japan. Customers are really excited about this car and we’re developing a significant order bank here in Europe. Exporting the car to Japan will only serve to increase demand further, which is great news!” said Philip Ross, Senior Vice President for Honda Motor Europe.

The first Honda Civic Type R rolled off the assembly line in Swindon only last week. Honda also announced that the engine for the new hot hatch is built exclusively at Honda’s plant in Sidney, Ohio.

So here’s globalization at its finest: one of the most sophisticated Honda products sold in Japan is built in the UK and has an American-made engine.