Honda’s UK-built, US-bound Civic hatchback, first revealed at the Geneva show earlier this month, has made its North American debut, still in prototype form, with the automaker finally, if subtly, confirming US supplies will be built at its Swindon plant here in England.
“The 2017 Civic Hatchback will be produced exclusively at the Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) plant in Swindon,” American Honda Motor said in a statement.
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That’s for the US, of course – a recent Australian media report said a Honda Thai plant would build the model for Australia and other Asia-Pacific markets.
US and Canadian-built Civic sedans and coupes are already on sale in the NAFTA region where Honda also has two plants in Mexico, currently shipping the HR-V crossover to Europe and other markets, and soon to transfer CR-V output to a factory in Indiana.
American Honda also confirmed in New York it would soon combine its new 1.5-litre turbo engine with a six-speed manual transmission “for more sporty and dynamic performance”.
“The arrival of the production 2017 Civic Hatchback later this year marks the continued rollout of the 10th-generation Civic lineup, the sportiest and most expansive family of Civics in the car’s 44-year history,” the US unit said.
The sedan version was recently named 2016 North American Car of the Year, and, according to just-auto.com data, Civic range volume was up 37% year on year to 54,448 units in the first two months of 2016.
The five-door hatchback will have just one powertrain in the US – the aforementioned 1.5-litre DOHC direct-injected turbo engine newly combined with that six-speed manual or a claimed “sporty CVT” automatic.
“The Civic Hatchback wraps the 10th generation Civic platform and five-door hatchback utility in emotional, Euro-inspired styling,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division of American Honda Motor. “Offered with the first application of the 1.5-litre turbo engine paired with a manual transmission, this sportiest Civic to date will attract a whole new set of enthusiasts buyers to the model and Honda brand.”
The hatchback will launch later this year as the third Civic body style offered in the US. Si variants and a new Type R – the hatchback version also expected to come from Swindon – will follow.
The hatchback was developed jointly by Honda R&D teams in Europe and Japan and is expected to bring new buyers into US showrooms.
Swindon built previous generation Civic Type S hatchbacks and some older CR-Vs for the US, supplementing North American and Japanese output.
A Canadian Honda plant in Alliston, Ontario, was global lead plant for the latest generation Civic and Swindon a year ago was named a global hub for the hatchback.
