The Honda Civic has been a staple in the compact car segment for almost 50 years here in America, so it would be hard to think that the brand would discontinue it. However, Honda did kill off the Civic Coupe recently, as it won’t be returning for the 2021 model year, so does that mean that the writing is on the wall for the Civic nameplate as a whole?

The Civic sedan will be saying “sayonara” in its homeland

While the Honda American market will be saying goodbye to the two-door Civic next year, the Civic sedan will be killed off in its homeland. It’s weird to think that the Honda Japan would discontinue such a well-known and well-loved model, however, the Japanese market is much different than that it is in the states. While we Americans love our big SUVs and crossovers, the Japanese market loves really small cars. And apparently, the Civic sedan is just too big.

While the Civic sedan might seem small to Americans, the Japanese public is more accustomed to driving tiny “Kei cars” as they provide an easier means of transportation in the country’s dense cityscapes. According to CNET, the Civic hatchback and Civic Type R variants will remain in the lineup but the Civic sedan is being axed due to slow sales. In fact, Honda only sold 1,619 of them last year, according to Automotive News, and in any part of the world, those kinds of numbers just won’t cut it.

This isn’t the first time Honda killed the Civic

While the news might seem shocking to some, this actually isn’t the first time Honda Japan killed off the Civic sedan. The Civic was discontinued back in 2010, but then it was brought back for the 2017 model year. However, as we can see, it didn’t come back with the bang that Honda hoped it had.

In comparing sales numbers, Rush Lane reported that Honda Japan sold more than 250,000 units of the Honda N-Box Kei car, so it’s easy to see where the public’s interest lies. But it’s not just about interests, as other local factors, such as heavy traffic, the lack of parking, and other taxes also come into play. If anything, just think of it as a more hectic version of Manhattan, you probably wouldn’t want to have to drive a “big” car, either.

Will the Civic survive in the states?

Fortunately, for us Americans, the Honda Civic sedan will be here to stay as far as we can see. While the Civic coupe was too small and much less pragmatic for us, the Civic sedan seems to fit everyone just fine. In fact, since sales numbers don’t lie, Honda American managed to sell over 325,000 Civic units in 2019 alone.

Considering only a small percentage of that figure were Civic coupes, it’s safe to say that we’ll be making use of the Civic sedan’s four doors for a while longer. Well, they at least need to get to the 50^th anniversary, otherwise, that would just be sad.