Honda invests £200m in Swindon car production plant

Honda has invested some £2.2bn in the Swindon plant over 20 years

Car maker Honda is to invest £200m in its UK plant - a year after it cut hundreds of jobs due to falling sales.

The Japanese firm said its factory in Swindon, Wiltshire, will become the "global hub" for its new five-door Civic model.

It employs about 2,500 workers at the plant, which first produced the Civic more than 20 years ago.

Honda Motor Europe president Toshiaki Mikoshiba said the move showed Swindon's "strategic importance".

The firm has invested £2.2bn in its UK plant, but cut about 450 jobs at the South Marston site last year.

Production of new cars at the site fell by 14% between 2013 and 2014.