Honda can meet 60% of required European sales from its factories in Swindon and in Turkey, Mike Godfrey, chief engineer at Honda UK Manufacturing, has told the headlineauto news agency. Output in Turkey ¨C which builds the four-door Civic only - has just been doubled to 50,000 and could be doubled again.

 

¡°Our European manufacturing capacity is 300,000 units which means we can meet 60% of current sales,¡± Godfrey said.

 

Maximum capacity at Swindon, which employs 4,200, is 250,000 vehicles a year and the plant exports to 60 different countries, said Godfrey.

 

On February 21, the two-millionth Swindon-built car, a silver CR-V, rolled off the line. Honda has invested £22m in a new plastic injection and painting facility capable of moulding and painting 1,300 sets of bumpers for the Civic and CR-V each day, part of an £80m investment plan for Swindon, where Honda started manufacturing 22 years ago. The engine plant gets £16m for a new casting facility which will enable it to independently cast diesel blocks, a process which, until now, has only been carried out in Japan. £50 million is being invested in welding and paint production technology, increasing efficiency and production flexibility.

 

Honda's Swindon plant has shown a 25% increase in production volume over the last 18 months, with the company's UK sales operation breaking through the 100,000 sales barrier for the first time in 2007.