Honda Closes Its Doors in New Zealand, Sends 19 Rare Cars to Charity Auction

Honda is shutting down its long-running Nelson facility in New Zealand after 46 years, but the closure comes with a silver lining for collectors and charities alike. The automaker is auctioning 19 classic models from its private Heritage Collection, with every dollar raised going directly to local charities.

The collection includes a pristine 2000 Civic Type R, a low-mileage 1995 Accord, and a handful of other rare gems.

The Nelson plant originally built British Leyland vehicles like Triumphs and Jaguars before switching to Honda production in 1980. Assembly operations ended in 1998 after New Zealand dropped import tariffs, making local manufacturing unprofitable. The site then became a national distribution center, which is now up for sale.

That left Honda with a warehouse full of classics. The blue-chip museum pieces, like the original NSX, S2000, and Integra Type R, stay put, while 19 more attainable models head to auction via Trade Me.

The star of the sale is a 2000 Honda Civic Type R (EK9) imported from Japan, with 95,691 miles on the clock, its original Championship White paint, and red Recaro seats. A previous owner added an aftermarket intake and exhaust. Also up for grabs: a time-capsule 1995 Accord LXi with just 4,722 miles, a purple 1989 Accord with 20,596 miles, and a repainted 1988 Honda City hatchback showing 14,912 miles.

Among the rarest finds are a 1987 Accord Aerodeck and a locally assembled 1987 Civic GTi hatchback.

On the high-mileage end, a 1992 Civic hatchback with 259,985 miles, farther than the distance from Earth to the moon, is being offered as a testament to Honda’s durability. Bidding on 16 of the 19 vehicles is live now on Trade Me and closes July 29. A video tour of the fleet is available on the Kiwi Car Life YouTube channel.