Honda Civic Launch In Europe Delayed By Thai Floods

Honda will delay the launch of its new Civic compact hatchback in Europe because of parts shortages stemming from the floods in Thailand. The Civic is traditionally Honda’s best-selling model in Europe, although the current version was overtaken by the Jazz this year. The European Civic is built at Honda’s factory in southern England. Earlier this week, Honda said it will reduce production at Swindon because some suppliers in Asia are unable to maintain parts production because of the floods, disrupting the flow of parts to production operations in Europe and other regions. In ASEAN countries the situation is no better as parts coming from Thailand for assembly plants in Malaysia and Indonesia are also affected. Meanwhile year-end sales are traditionally slow for all brands as consumers wait for the New Year to get a new registration number for the cars.