Honda of the UK Manufacturing
| Honda of the UK Manufacturing
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Limited |
| founding | 1985 |
| Seat | Swindon , UK |
| management | Ian Howells, Katsushi Inoue, Jun Nishimoto, Katsuhisa Okude |
| Number of employees | 3,762 |
| sales | GBP 2.293 billion approx. EUR 2.56 billion |
| Branch |
Automobile manufacturer engine construction |
| Website | www.hondamanufacturing.co.uk |
The Honda of the UK Manufacturing Ltd. , internally known as HUM , is a subsidiary of the Japanese Honda group established in 1985 and headquartered in Swindon , England . The company site currently covers an area of 370 hectares on which automobile and engine manufacturing plants and a test track are operated. The company's annual capacity is 250,000 units, which are sold in Europe and North America . A total of 60 stores are supplied from the English production. Around 3,400 employees work for the company. The company itself began its activity as an importer of motor vehicles, and it was not until October 10, 1992 that production could begin in its own factory. Within the vehicle identification number , the plant uses the world manufacturer code SHH and the plant code U for Swindon in eleventh position.
Company history
Honda made its first attempts to establish itself on the English market in 1979 in a joint venture with the Rover Group . In the course of the collaboration, Swindon was ultimately chosen as the future location. A good infrastructure with very good connections to several nearby ports, a connection to the most important regional motorways , as well as to London Heathrow Airport, contributed to this choice . Swindon was also known for its former production facility for the Great Western Railway , which enjoyed an outstanding reputation in engineering .
Today's company premises were bought by Vickers Supermarine Limited that same year . It was an airfield , the runway of which has been converted into today's 1.4-kilometer test track. With an investment of 300 million pounds sterling , the first plant went into operation in late 1992 after construction work was completed.
The previous models from the collaboration with Rover were assembled at the Longbridge factory . Some of the models were also available as Triumph and Rover models in the so-called badge engineering . This cooperation was only ended by Honda in 1999.
The first model made in the UK was the Honda Civic subcompact , followed by the Honda Accord and the Honda Ballade . Although the Japanese model versions initially only occupied a marginal position, the sister models became more popular internationally. These models were particularly popular in former colonial areas. It was not until the decline in the mid-1990s that Honda drastically restricted the supply of auto parts to the factory now belonging to BMW , so that most of the models had to undergo model updates under their own direction . In late 1999, Honda ended the collaboration and since then has only operated its own independent production of its vehicles.
In 1989 engine production was also set up in the factory. 365,000 engines are manufactured here every year.
The second plant, which was built over the turn of the millennium , started work on July 21, 2001. This increased the capacity from 150,000 units to 250,000 per year. Here the production of the Honda Civic and the now discontinued Honda Accord was taken over. The main car models from the second album, however, are internationally marketed units of Honda CR-V and Honda Civic Type R . The company's latest model is the Honda Jazz , which has been built since 2009 .
In 2009 the company took a four month break from work. The reason for this measure was a worldwide decline in orders and sales within the first quarter.
In February 2019, Honda announced the closure of the site.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Full accounts made up to 31 March 2019
- ↑ Julia Kollewe: Honda shuts UK factory in Swindon for four months. In: theguardian.com. October 30, 2009, accessed March 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Honda is closing its only UK factory in Swindon, putting 3,500 jobs at risk. In: edition.cnn.com. February 19, 2019, accessed March 4, 2019 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 35 ′ 37.26 " N , 1 ° 44 ′ 10.6" W.