HONDA is enjoying its best ever sales figures in the UK.

During the first half of this year the company, which employs almost 4,000 people at the South Marston plant, sold almost 15,000 cars about 400 a day.

It now sells more than Audi, Mercedes and BMW in Britain in 1994 it sold fewer than two per cent of cars in the UK.

The company has said that its good sales are largely down to Swindon-built cars, such as the three and five-door Civic and the CR-V. The Honda Civic is the most popular British-built small car in the land.

UK head of marketing Simon Thompson said: "Two main factors are the strength of our current products combined with a big improvement in the value of the Honda brand we're now seen as cool, dynamic and innovative rather than dull and boring."