The investment is the biggest the carmaker has made in its UK facilities in over a decade, and includes recruiting 500 staff, bringing the total to 3,500. Production this year will be twice what it was in 2011, at 183,000 units, of which 60% is exported to 60 markets worldwide.

Honda UK Manufacturing (HUM) already builds the Civic, has just begun production of the new CR-V and will produce the low-CO2 1.6-litre diesel engine, scheduled to be fitted to its medium and large models  starting with the Civic in January.

Visiting the site, business secretary Vince Cable, commented, ‘This multi-million pound investment by Honda in its 20th year of car production in the UK is great news for Swindon and the automotive sector. Having created a host of new jobs, the investment supports Government’s ambition to encourage new investment and exports as a route to renewed growth and a more balanced economy.‘

Dave Hodgetts, managing director of Honda UK added, ‘This investment programme underpins Honda’s commitment to manufacturing in Britain and to our UK workforce. It also reaffirms the Swindon plant’s position as the cornerstone of Honda’s European operations, as it has been for over 20 years’.