OUTPUT of Honda's Accord will be stepped up next month - even though production of the car will come to an end in July. Demand is so strong for the Japanese company's UK-built model that an extra 200 have been ordered from the Swindon factory, national corporate sales manager Nicholas Phillips revealed at the Fleet Motor Show.

'Interest in the Accord rose dramatically after we expanded the range from eight to 12 versions last September,' said Phillips. 'In order to make the run-out more orderly, we switched over to a sold-order supply arrangement, which has guaranteed customers have their cars at the right dealerships at the right time. The system is working extremely well, but demand is still outstripping supply. Orders continue to be subject to a six-week delivery delay, so we've taken the unusual step of asking for extra vehicles from the factory in June.'

Phillips said Honda UK was due to sell 1,000 examples of the upper-medium saloon during August, but it would have no more Accords to offer until the new model became available on October 1. 'We're not particularly happy about the prospect of a month-long vacuum, but it's unreasonable to expect immediate output when a model is being changed. The upside is that we will have adequate supplies of the new Accord available from October 1,' he added.