Longer wait times indeed for the FL5

Perhaps the biggest party poopers in the automotive industry these days are supply chain disruptions and chip shortages. While manufacturers are rolling out exciting models left and right, these factors continue to wreak havoc on automotive manufacturers' production plans, causing longer wait times for prospective buyers wanting to get their hands on the latest exciting vehicles in the market.

Deliveries of 2023 Honda Civic Type R to take longer than 6 months image

Now, Honda's hottest model has also fallen into the chip shortage fiasco. The Japanese manufacturer has announced on its official website that the estimated delivery lead time for the 2023 Civic Type R will take more than half a year. This means buyers who have already placed reservations for the FL5 will have to wait for more than six months to receive the hot hatch.

Honda did not disclose any specific market with this lead time, which gives us good reason to believe all markets (including us) that would get the FL5 may be affected by this issue.

Deliveries of 2023 Honda Civic Type R to take longer than 6 months image

In case you did not notice, the all-new Civic Type R is back as a Japanese-made model, as it is now being produced at Honda's Saitama Automobile plant. The manufacturer's production plan is to roll out 400 units of the FL5 per month. But as evidenced by the long lead time, Honda's monthly supply simply can't keep up with the high demand globally for its latest hot hatch.

As mentioned in our previous articles, the 2023 Civic Type R is lower, wider, and more powerful than its predecessor. The Japanese-spec model now produces 330 PS from its 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo engine, while top speed has been increased thanks to a more high-speed final gear ratio.

Deliveries of 2023 Honda Civic Type R to take longer than 6 months image

In the Japanese market, the FL5 is priced at JPY 4,997,300 or PHP 1.98-million when converted to the current foreign exchange rates, only having a JPY 250,000 (PHP 100,000) increase over the previous FK8 model. Locally, the FK8 was offered at PHP 3.2-million. Once the new model eventually reaches the country, we would not be surprised if Honda would put a price tag north of PHP 3.5-million.

As much as we'd like to get our hands on the all-new Civic Type R the soonest, we may have to wait a lot longer than expected. But as they say, good things come to those who wait.