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Honda eyes Swindon expansion

28/09/2006

Japanese car manufacturer Honda is to announce expansion plans for its plant at Swindon in Wiltshire, according to reports.

Plans to boost car production from 190,000 to over 250,000 vehicles per year at the factory will be revealed by the company at the opening of the Paris Motor Show today, the Sun newspaper claims.

The paper reports that the expected move will create "hundreds" of jobs in the Swindon area, bringing the total number of people employed at the Honda plant to around 5,000.

It is claimed that Honda are planning the expansion in order to accommodate the launch of a new three-door version of the Honda Civic, which is manufactured in the town. The company is also set to unveil a new 4x4 model at the end of this year.

Reports of the anticipated move come amid an apparent turnaround for the British car industry following Peugeot's decision to close its factory at Coventry.

Bentley has since said that advance orders for its continental GTC convertible will allow the company to safeguard 4,000 jobs in Crewe, while BMW is set to create an additional 1,000 jobs in Oxford and Nissan a further 500 jobs in Sunderland.

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