Honda Will Keep Building The Civic In North America Despite European Factory Closures

Honda has confirmed that it will continue to build Civics in North America.

Immediately following news that Honda will end UK and Turkish production of the Civic in 2021, the car manufacturer indicated that it could shift production of the Civic hatchback to North America. Speaking with AutoNews, Honda chief executive Takahiro Hachigo suggested this is what will happen.

“Given our efforts to optimize production allocation and production capacity on a global scale, we have concluded that we will produce the Civic for North America in North America,” Hachigo said.

Examples of the Honda Civic hatchback currently sold in the United States are built by the marque’s UK factory in Swindon.

Hachigo did not say where in the U.S. production of the next-generation Civic will take place and failed to reveal how many more Civics will be built in North America as a result of the change. His statement also fails to shed light on what facilities will handle Civic production for markets outside of North America. In addition, it remains unconfirmed if Civic hatchback production will be shifted to North America.

For those that didn’t know, Honda already builds the Civic at its plant in Alliston, Ontario, Canada and at a facility in Greensburg, Indiana. Last year, these factories built 281,126 Civics, substantially more than the roughly 150,000 Civics built in the UK last year and the 38,000 Civic sedans constructed in Turkey.

Honda asserts that it decided to close its Swindon facility as part of a revision of its global manufacturing operations that will help to accelerate its commitment to electrified cars. While Honda didn’t mention it, the strong possibility of a no-deal Brexit is thought to have also played a role in the decision.