- Read all the latest news from the 2015 Frankfurt motor show
Honda has used the Frankfurt Motor Show to announce the start of production for its all-new five-door Civic range.
While previously mooted, Honda had not committed to a start date for production at its British plant in the UK Midlands.
But Honda Europe's senior vice-president, Philip Ross, was able to confirm to Drive that production would start "early in 2017".
In a classic coals-to-Newcastle scenario, the five-door Civic would be built exclusively in the UK with cars then being exported to Japan and, for the first time ever, North America.
Four-door Civics are currently built in Turkey and the USA, but the five-door is to be made only in Britain.
The announcement comes on the back of a recent commitment by Honda to invest a further 270 million Euros in its Midlands factory, taking the total investment over the years to 3 billion Euros.
Mr Ross would not be drawn on what powerplants would feature, nor whether the five-door Civic would be available as a hybrid or plug-in electric version.
