Honda Swindon - UK

Honda opened a plant in the UK at Swindon, Wiltshire and in 1992, the Honda Accord started rolling off the assembly line. The Honda Concerto was also UK assembled and that commenced in 1989 but that was produced by MG Rover for Honda. At first things went well with Honda's collaboration with MG Rover but BMW's taking over MGR moved Honda to quickly withdraw from the arrangement. The sad thing about that was both MGR and Honda suffered from the loss of cost savings the arrangement provided.

We all know the mess BMW made of MGR but Honda soldiered on. However, the EU decided to phase out import duties on cars and Honda's sales in Europe were in decline. The Swindon plant was exporting most of its product out of Europe in the form of the new Civic. It was also down to one model which causes cyclical cost issues. The upshot is Honda closes the plant at the end of July 2021. 

Now for some model history. The Accord was assembled effectively from 1993 for nine years and in that time 325,500 were made (36,200 per year). In 1995 Civic assembly was going along nicely and continued down to the end over a 27 year period (one not counted here). The Type R was a highlight of that. The undulating volume averaged out at 76,600 and by the time the factory finally closes its doors, over 2 million will have been produced.

The CR-V SUV came along in the year 2000 but it was 2002 when things got serious. 1,200,000 in all were made. The Jazz made a cameo appearance from 2009 to 2015 with nearly 153,000 units assembled. 

Looking back, it was in the 2000's when the plant was at its most productive, reaching nearly a quarter of a million cars with two models. Beyond that, even with three models the numbers were falling as European sales fell. The final attempt was made with a lone Civic Hatchback made for the global market but the cost effectiveness of that was its downfall. It was cheaper to make the Civic in other plants closer to where they are sold. 

Another chapter of UK car manufacturing had been written and now ended. Many in the UK wouldn't know or care anyway, symptomatic of the culture that pervades modern Britain. Mind you it can't all be blamed on that as Honda's way of succeeding in the European market was increasingly ineffective.   

Toyota Burnaston - UK

Toyota has numerous plants around the world. They have only ever closed one I believe, in Australia. So that gives security to workers knowing that a facility is in doubt each time a model nears the end of its production cycle. 

It started back in 1993 at a time when Japanese car makers were trying to get around duty on cars imported from Japan. The UK was the most popular choice and Toyota was one of three companies that built assembly plants. 

The Carina kicked things off (green shading in the Avensis column). As production ramped up, in due course saloon, liftback and estate models were made. In total 467,000 were assembled at Burnaston before it was replaced by the Avensis. There is an overlap year between models in case you wondered. 

The Avensis was also with three body styles for the next two generations as sales went along very nicely. For the third generation Avensis, the liftback version was dropped. Volume didn't reflect a new model and the model ended in 2018 as buyers deserted the medium car segment. In all 1,936,500 were made in total over three generations. 

Turning our attention to the Corolla / Auris column, which started in 1997 through to today. At first, the numbers were low but by the introduction of the Auris nameplate in 2006 volumes were much stronger. In 2010, a hybrid version was added to the range which has its own column below and the production figure is already included with the Corolla. Initially not that influential but after few years it climbed. By 2020, it accounts for nearly all the production of the Corolla.

4.6 million cars have left the assembly line so far, although current production is below the yearly average of 163,000. It would be more cost effective to have a second model at the plant as has been the case for much of its existence but many factors are involved in such a decision. Maybe in due course a fully electric model will be added. 

Vauxhall Ellesmere Port - UK

Back in 1964 GM Vauxhall started producing the Viva model at its new Ellesmere Port facility. The Chevette was introduced in 1975 as the Viva was being phased out. Then in 1980, the Astra production commenced to replace the Chevette. The plant became known as the home of the Astra. 

The figures below are for production at the plant as best I could assemble. It is accurate as far as I'm concerned but any corrections are welcome. The Astra car range was complemented by a wagon variant from 2010 and the Astra van, a popular workhorse for commercial operators going back to 1981. It was replaced by the Corsa Combo in 2013. The Vectra was briefly added when it was moved from the Luton plant.  

Below in the chart, the colour shadings are added to show model changes, some of which overlap so are indicative of each series but in change over years would include the former and latter edition. Over 3.6 million vehicles were made in the 30 odd years shown below.  

The problem for a single model plant is a car sales fall as the car ages and then lifts for the new model. This creates uneven production numbers. A second model wasn't an option for the new owner PSA and added to that is the Astra isn't as popular as it was. So could the plant have a future? The new owner promised no plant closures when the Stellantis entity was created and took the reigns.

After several months of uncertainty and with government support, the plant will no longer make the next Astra series but rather an electric van. Volume is expected to be on the 50,000 unit mark, well down on plant capacity but no worse than current Astra numbers anyway. The model involved hasn't been disclosed at the time of typing. 

The plant upgrade includes a new body shop (I could do with one of those), an upgraded assembly line and a battery pack assembly unit. With that sort of commitment, the plant's future seems to be bright after years of uncertainty.