HONDA is poised to unveil the sport utility vehicle it plans to help drive its British manufacturing operations to profitability. The company's next-generation CR-V is to be introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show in October and is expected to add 100,000 units to annual production.

'It will take us to our target volume of 250,000 cars per year by the end of 2002 and finally turn the UK into a profit centre for the company,' a spokesman told Fleet NewsNet. Significantly, 80% of the new CR-V output will be exported to customers in North America. On sale from spring 2002, the CR-V will go into production at the end of this year at Swindon's second plant, which opens in July.