Honda is preparing to restructure its business model in Australia on July 1, 2021, from a sales oriented mainstream company to a customer-centric high-end brand, providing high-quality design and engineering vehicles.
According to reports, the door of the new high-tech fourth generation city car released in Japan earlier this year has been open in Australia, if conditions are right. Now the cheapest Toyota Yaris starts at more than $22,000, and sales pressure of less than $20,000 has dissipated. Please review your decision on Jazz Honda. With its friendly look, hybrid usability and cool cockpit, it represents Honda's high-quality accessibility technology.
It is clear that there will be more new models in Honda's product line, most of them with some kind of electrification, as the company reconnects its advanced engineering heritage to help overcome increasingly stringent emission regulations. After all, the Civic and CVCC combustion process was the first mass-produced car that could meet stringent anti-pollution laws as early as 1974.
Such a high level of engineering technology helped Honda in its founder, Soichiro Honda, 1906-1991) flourished under the visionary management concept, and fostered a culture of technological progress and innovation, especially in engine, suspension and body engineering, from the pioneering NSX super sports car to the most humble civic in the 1980s and 1990s, which made the brand stand out as “BMW of Japan”.
Subsequently, Hondas traded at a high price. A Civic GL in 1990 sold for $21,800, compared to $42,000 in 2020, compared with $17,100 worth of Toyota Corolla SE of $34,000. For reference, today's BMW 118I is $45,990, while the new Civic VTI is $22,590.
So, what happened to Honda? Among other factors, the more severe economic situation and the desire to compete with Toyota, the main competitor, for sales advantage, especially in the lucrative American market after Soichiro-san retired, which led to more affordable but less innovative vehicles after entering the 21st century, which pushed Honda into the mainstream. To be fair, most car manufacturers are following suit as real car prices plummet and safety and equipment levels rose. This is the only way to survive.
Honda did that and then flourished as CR-V resonated with buyers around the world. In Australia, the company aims to achieve a record annual sale of 80000 vehicles by 2010, which will leave it behind Toyota, Holden and Ford, but ahead of Mazda, Hyundai and Mitsubishi. However, such heights have never been reached, with only 44000 buyers for the brand last year, down 15% from the figure in 2018. This year's pandemic has reduced the proportion by nearly 40%.
According to Stephen Collins, head of Honda Australia, it has become very clear recently that the original way of doing things is no longer working.
He expressed his ideas earlier this year that they cannot wait anymore, and the Australian market has been down for 23 consecutive months and every car business is changing rapidly. What’s more, customer preferences are changing, while other industries are developing, and the automotive industry is still using models from decades ago.
Are you willing to pay extra for quality engineering, design and service? Honda is counting on it. The power of dreams will eventually come true.
