I think it would be a combination of factors.

* 1% market penetration in the UK is far fewer vehicles than 1% in the US. OTOH as I understand it the markup is higher here (£18k for the Hybrid which is normally around $30k).

* Design. Apparently I'm a bit weird (as a European) in not really liking the hatchback concept. A lot of reviewers criticised the Hybrid because it was a saloon.

* Most Honda cars (probably 99% of the sales) are built in the UK. It isn't to Honda UK's advantage to fight too hard for the Hybrid.

* UK vehicles have to be right hand drive

Basically a lot of hassle to build a car for a small market normally serviced by home grown units.

As for the sporty hatchback - meh. I prefer the design of the Hybrid. The flashy hatchback is too fussy inside and the pricing is poor. Not to say that the car isn't worth the price but as a replacement for my three year old Civic it's too expensive. I'll pay 25% extra for the CVT and Hybrid technology but I'm not paying 25% extra just to get a car that's a bit younger. It's not like a three year old Civic is going to fall apart anyway. Probably better quality than a lot of other manufacturer's cars at new