2023 Honda Civic Type R: How much and how many units for PH?
Civic Type R: Pricey and very limited
If you’re a Honda fan, then the model you’re excited about is the all-new Civic Type R.
For several generations, Honda has kept the Civic Type R out of reach in the Philippine market. That’s why the examples we saw of the Civic Type R (be it the EK9, the EP3, the FD2/FN2, or the FK2) were all gray market imports. None of these previous-generation CTRs came out of an official Honda dealer.
In 2017 that all changed when Honda Cars Philippines finally brought the Civic Type R (FK8) into our market. Despite being pricey at PHP 2,980,000 and being made in the U.K. at Swindon, the initial batch of 100 units was all spoken for in less than 48 hours. They followed it up with another batch, but this time at a price of PHP 3,210,000. Still, it sold very well.
Now there’s a new generation Civic Type R, one that is based on the eleventh generation Civic that is already available at showrooms.
The new model represents the pinnacle of the Civic line with the intent of producing a high-performance variant that can win races, set lap records, and still be very usable on a daily drive. The Civic Type R is built on the hatchback version of the Civic that has been optimized for dynamic driving and is powered by a 2.0L turbo gasoline engine that makes 320 PS and 420 Nm of torque. The model is actually busy beating the records set by its predecessor on various racetracks around the world, including the one set at Suzuka.
Following its world premiere in July of 2022 and several market launches all around the world (including the launch in Vietnam a few months ago), the Philippines is next. And it seems the launch date is set for January 19.
There are only two questions that remain: how much will it be, and how many will be sold in the Philippines? Despite our many conversations with Honda’s executives, they won’t answer those questions until the 19th of this month. There are, however, alternative ways to get the info we need.
On the matter of pricing, our sources tell us that Honda plans to offer the 2023 Honda Civic Type R (FL5) for around PHP 4 million (almost USD 73,000). That’s indicative pricing of course, and it could change depending on current trends in the industry like the exchange rates, shipping costs, parts costs, and so on and so forth. The general hope is that the pricing will go down because PHP 4 million is very high.
The other piece of information we got is how many units are planned for the Philippines, and that number is 30. That number is also indicative meaning it could go up or down depending on how production is going. Unlike the FK8 this new FL5 Civic Type R is made in Japan, and being that parts and components supplies are being disrupted and costs are going up, it’s understandable why the unit allocation is so low.
Of course, this is all still indicative, but it stands to reason that when Honda Cars Philippines does officially announce all the details of the new Type R, we don’t think it’ll sell out in 48 hours like the FK8. Maybe 12 hours will be enough.
There will definitely be way more than 30 customers for the FL5.
