√Honda Civic Type R sold out for 18 months, first year allocation gone in 24 hours

Overwhelming demand has seen the first year’s allocation of Honda Civic Type R hot hatches for Australia sell in less than a day – and wait times on new orders extend into 2024.

The first 12 months of Honda Civic Type R hot hatch stock for Australia was exhausted in less than 24 hours – and orders placed today are now estimated to see delivery in the middle of 2024, according to Honda dealer sources.

Order books for the new Civic Type R opened on 1 December 2022.

Despite a price tag $12,000 dearer than the old model – to more than $72,000 drive-away – the first year’s allocation of cars was accounted for in less than 24 hours, dealers have told Drive.

Honda Australia dealers canvassed by Drive say they are now taking orders for early to mid-2024 delivery – a wait of 18 months, before anyone has seen the new Honda hot hatch in Australia or taken a test drive.

Some dealers are quoting wait times up to two years – suggesting delivery in late 2024, or into 2025 – and high demand for the hero Championship White exterior colour.

Honda Australia is yet to confirm publicly how many Civic Type R hot hatchbacks are in the first year’s allocation, but dealer estimates suggest it is in the region of 600 cars.

Prior to the opening of order books, Honda Australia said it has received 4000 expressions of interest.

Data sourced by Drive revealed 1200 to 1300 previous-generation Civic Type Rs – about 3.5 per cent of total Civic sales locally – were sold in Australia across its model run, from October 2017 to mid-2021.

While there are long wait times in Australia for the new Honda Civic Type R, they are believed to be less than Japan, where Honda is reportedly preparing to close order books as customers are advised of wait times up to three years (according to blog Creative Trend).

Meantime, overseas reports claim Canada has only been allocated 546 Civic Type Rs for the next three years of production – or 182 per year – while New Zealand’s allocation is expected to be limited to a few hundred cars over the same period.

The first batch of cars is due in Australia in February or March 2023, according to Honda dealer sources – with more examples due to arrive progressively throughout the year.

The 2023 Honda Civic Type R is priced from $72,600 drive-away – about $12,000 more expensive than the car it replaces, which was $54,990 plus on-road costs at the end of its model cycle, or about $60,000 drive-away.

As with all other Honda vehicles, the Civic Type R price is non-negotiable and fixed across all states and territories.

For now, orders placed today are expected to be protected against future price rises over the next 18 months.

One of the new Honda Civic Type R’s chief turbocharged, six-speed manual hot hatch rivals – the all-wheel-drive Toyota GR Corolla – is also facing limited supply, with only 500 allocated to Australia for the first 12 months.

That compares to 6600 for the US market – out of a total of 8600 for the world for Model Year 2023.

The post Honda Civic Type R sold out for 18 months, first year allocation gone in 24 hours appeared first on Drive.