http://www.autoblog.com/2013/02/12/a...t-the-economy/
Analysts say Honda's growing woes in Europe not just the economy
There is no denying that the European auto market is taking its lumps right now – just ask Peugeot – but Honda might be taking this downturn on the chin a little harder than some of the other Japanese automakers doing business on the continent. Automotive News Europe is reporting that things have gotten so bad for Honda that it will be cutting 800 workers from Swindon, England plant that builds the CR-V, Civic and Jazz (a.k.a. Fit). This will be the first time Honda has made such cuts in more than 20 years.
Despite an increase in output last year over 2011 (165,607 units compared to 97,459), the Swindon plant is still running well below its full capacity (250,000/year), and its 66 percent capacity is less than the expected breakeven point of industry analysts (75 to 80 percent). Unlike in the US, however, Honda's new CR-V and Civic aren't selling well, and the similarly sized Nissan Qashqai is outselling the CR-V at a rate of more than five to one. Slow CR-V sales are blamed on a relatively high price and the crossover's conservative styling. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, the report notes that Nissan continues to experience growth at its UK operations, leading analysts to suggest that Honda can't blame the sour economy for much of its woes.
==========================
Honda Brings in New Look Jazz, but will that be Enough to Pose Challenge to Dominance of Maruti and Hyundai? Gaadi.com Reviews
India’s premier online platform for posting of used cars and new cars, Gaadi.com, provides an insight into the new Honda Jazz. Users can now find all that is there to know about this new hatchback which hit the Indian markets in 2012.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/honda-...eb10422366.htm
This car, a new version of the existing five-door hatchback Honda Jazz, is known as Honda Fit in other countries. In the 2012 model of Jazz, Honda has reworked on the style features and given it a new look. Some of the main restyled features for the top end model Jazz X include the head lamps, tail lamps and fog lights, front and rear bumpers, color coded front grille, new color combination for interiors, 15 inch silver alloy wheels, electrically retractable ORVM, and color shade option termed new urban titanium.
The new Jazz is available in three variants – Jazz, Jazz Select and Jazz X. All variants feature dual SRS airbags, and ABS with EBD. Honda has made no change to the engine of Jazz and Jazz continues to be powered by the 1.2 i-VTEC litre petrol engine. Jazz’s engine makes it a powerful option among its segment by providing peak torque of 110 Nm and peak power of 89 bhp,
The car boasts of superior safety in its category. The new Jazz comes loaded with a range of safety features such as emergency brake assist, flexible front seat belts, child seat restraint, Advanced Compatibility Engineering, and Vehicle Stability Assist or VSA that protects the driver’s head with specially created airbags.
This car comes with price range of Rs. 5.75 lakh to Rs. 7.00 lakh (Ex-showroom) depending on the model. Honda has priced it slightly above the likes of Maruti Swift and Hyundai i20 as Honda has a more premium positioning as compared to the other two. In the Indian car industry, Honda has seen good amount of success coming in from sedans and larger cars, however the competitive A2 segment is still dominated by Maruti and Hyundai. By bringing out a revamped Jazz, Honda is trying to hit the right chord in consumer’s minds that Honda can also provide competitive offerings in hatchbacks.
Gaadi.com unveiled a detailed page of Jazz that provides complete specifications, features, expert and user reviews along with some amazing pictures of the Honda Jazz. It also contains the exhaustive review of the first drive that took place in Japan for select few Indian journalists last year.
About The Company
Gaadi.com is the leading online automotive marketplace bringing together car buyers and car sellers. New car buyers can research their car purchase while used car buyers can browse through the largest collection of inventory online. It is the best resource for new car research in India, providing users with information, opinions & tools to ease the process of finding a suitable car. Gaadi.com’s used car marketplace is the best in online space with a comprehensively curated and photographed stock of used cars. It provides a transparent and reliable platform for used car listings with detailed information for used car buyers.
================================
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/...-model-locally
Honda launches hybrid car model locally
Pitak Pruittisarikorn, an executive vice-president of Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co, gives his opinion of the new Honda Civic Hybrid. He expects to sell 7,200 of the cars this year.
Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co Ltd is bullish on its hybrid car segment, projecting the overall industry will see double-digit growth this year.
Executive vice-president Pitak Pruittisarikorn said domestic demand for hybrids will grow dramatically this year to more than 20,000 vehicles, up from 18,000 last year.
Honda yesterday launched the Honda Civic Hybrid, which features smart technology and comprehensive safety features and is the first hybrid produced in Thailand to come with a lithium-ion battery.
The standard Hybrid goes for 1.035 million baht, while the Hybrid Navi is 1.095 million.
Honda provides a five-year warranty for the fully integrated hybrid system with no limit on mileage, plus a special warranty extended from 5-10 years on the hybrid battery.
It is extending the hybrid battery warranty for the sporty Honda CR-Z Hybrid and the Jazz Hybrid to five years for customers who previously bought these models.
Honda plans to sell 7,200 units of the Honda Civic Hybrid this year.
It started tapping into the Thai hybrid market last year with the launch of the imported CR-Z Hybrid and the domestically made Jazz Hybrid.
Honda sold 3,900 to 4,200 hybrid vehicles last year.
''Hybrid cars are now getting popular in Thailand. With its lower fuel usage and eco-friendly features, I believe this segment will grow,'' Mr Pitak said.
Honda plans to open a hybrid battery production plant in Thailand in the coming years.
The Thai unit of Japan's third-largest carmaker last week said it will invest more than 20 billion baht.
A total of 17.2 billion baht will be used to build an assembly and engine plant in Prachin Buri province.
Honda will also spend 2.03 billion baht to increase its Ayutthaya plant's annual production capacity to 300,000 vehicles by early next year.
=================================http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20130213D13JSN01.htm
Honda Gains Foothold In Kenya To Tap E Africa Car Market
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Honda Motor Co. (7267) has begun selling cars in Kenya through a partnership with a local dealership firm and plans to use this low-risk business model to expand into Tanzania and other East African countries.
The Japanese carmaker has joined forces with Dubai-based TransAfrica Motors Ltd., which has operations in Kenya's four major cities. Its dealerships there have begun carrying the low-priced compact hatchback Brio, imported from India, as well as the CR-V sport utility vehicle and Accord sedan, supplied from Japan, among other models.
Honda sees Kenya, with its emerging middle class, as a springboard for a broader expansion in East Africa. It has yet to establish a presence in these countries, where the car markets are still small compared with other parts of Africa.
The automaker opened an office in Kenya in 2012 to conduct market research, but it does not have a sales base there. Instead, its South African subsidiary will provide marketing support for the Kenyan dealerships.
Honda sold 13,373 cars in Africa in 2012, up 10% from the previous year but only half its 2007 tally. The firm marketed cars in Kenya with a different partner until around four years ago, but ended that relationship due to sluggish sales.
(The Nikkei Business Daily, Feb. 14 edition)
=============================
Analysts say Honda's growing woes in Europe not just the economy
There is no denying that the European auto market is taking its lumps right now – just ask Peugeot – but Honda might be taking this downturn on the chin a little harder than some of the other Japanese automakers doing business on the continent. Automotive News Europe is reporting that things have gotten so bad for Honda that it will be cutting 800 workers from Swindon, England plant that builds the CR-V, Civic and Jazz (a.k.a. Fit). This will be the first time Honda has made such cuts in more than 20 years.
Despite an increase in output last year over 2011 (165,607 units compared to 97,459), the Swindon plant is still running well below its full capacity (250,000/year), and its 66 percent capacity is less than the expected breakeven point of industry analysts (75 to 80 percent). Unlike in the US, however, Honda's new CR-V and Civic aren't selling well, and the similarly sized Nissan Qashqai is outselling the CR-V at a rate of more than five to one. Slow CR-V sales are blamed on a relatively high price and the crossover's conservative styling. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, the report notes that Nissan continues to experience growth at its UK operations, leading analysts to suggest that Honda can't blame the sour economy for much of its woes.
==========================
Honda Brings in New Look Jazz, but will that be Enough to Pose Challenge to Dominance of Maruti and Hyundai? Gaadi.com Reviews
India’s premier online platform for posting of used cars and new cars, Gaadi.com, provides an insight into the new Honda Jazz. Users can now find all that is there to know about this new hatchback which hit the Indian markets in 2012.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/honda-...eb10422366.htm
This car, a new version of the existing five-door hatchback Honda Jazz, is known as Honda Fit in other countries. In the 2012 model of Jazz, Honda has reworked on the style features and given it a new look. Some of the main restyled features for the top end model Jazz X include the head lamps, tail lamps and fog lights, front and rear bumpers, color coded front grille, new color combination for interiors, 15 inch silver alloy wheels, electrically retractable ORVM, and color shade option termed new urban titanium.
The new Jazz is available in three variants – Jazz, Jazz Select and Jazz X. All variants feature dual SRS airbags, and ABS with EBD. Honda has made no change to the engine of Jazz and Jazz continues to be powered by the 1.2 i-VTEC litre petrol engine. Jazz’s engine makes it a powerful option among its segment by providing peak torque of 110 Nm and peak power of 89 bhp,
The car boasts of superior safety in its category. The new Jazz comes loaded with a range of safety features such as emergency brake assist, flexible front seat belts, child seat restraint, Advanced Compatibility Engineering, and Vehicle Stability Assist or VSA that protects the driver’s head with specially created airbags.
This car comes with price range of Rs. 5.75 lakh to Rs. 7.00 lakh (Ex-showroom) depending on the model. Honda has priced it slightly above the likes of Maruti Swift and Hyundai i20 as Honda has a more premium positioning as compared to the other two. In the Indian car industry, Honda has seen good amount of success coming in from sedans and larger cars, however the competitive A2 segment is still dominated by Maruti and Hyundai. By bringing out a revamped Jazz, Honda is trying to hit the right chord in consumer’s minds that Honda can also provide competitive offerings in hatchbacks.
Gaadi.com unveiled a detailed page of Jazz that provides complete specifications, features, expert and user reviews along with some amazing pictures of the Honda Jazz. It also contains the exhaustive review of the first drive that took place in Japan for select few Indian journalists last year.
About The Company
Gaadi.com is the leading online automotive marketplace bringing together car buyers and car sellers. New car buyers can research their car purchase while used car buyers can browse through the largest collection of inventory online. It is the best resource for new car research in India, providing users with information, opinions & tools to ease the process of finding a suitable car. Gaadi.com’s used car marketplace is the best in online space with a comprehensively curated and photographed stock of used cars. It provides a transparent and reliable platform for used car listings with detailed information for used car buyers.
================================
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/...-model-locally
Honda launches hybrid car model locally
Pitak Pruittisarikorn, an executive vice-president of Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co, gives his opinion of the new Honda Civic Hybrid. He expects to sell 7,200 of the cars this year.
Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co Ltd is bullish on its hybrid car segment, projecting the overall industry will see double-digit growth this year.
Executive vice-president Pitak Pruittisarikorn said domestic demand for hybrids will grow dramatically this year to more than 20,000 vehicles, up from 18,000 last year.
Honda yesterday launched the Honda Civic Hybrid, which features smart technology and comprehensive safety features and is the first hybrid produced in Thailand to come with a lithium-ion battery.
The standard Hybrid goes for 1.035 million baht, while the Hybrid Navi is 1.095 million.
Honda provides a five-year warranty for the fully integrated hybrid system with no limit on mileage, plus a special warranty extended from 5-10 years on the hybrid battery.
It is extending the hybrid battery warranty for the sporty Honda CR-Z Hybrid and the Jazz Hybrid to five years for customers who previously bought these models.
Honda plans to sell 7,200 units of the Honda Civic Hybrid this year.
It started tapping into the Thai hybrid market last year with the launch of the imported CR-Z Hybrid and the domestically made Jazz Hybrid.
Honda sold 3,900 to 4,200 hybrid vehicles last year.
''Hybrid cars are now getting popular in Thailand. With its lower fuel usage and eco-friendly features, I believe this segment will grow,'' Mr Pitak said.
Honda plans to open a hybrid battery production plant in Thailand in the coming years.
The Thai unit of Japan's third-largest carmaker last week said it will invest more than 20 billion baht.
A total of 17.2 billion baht will be used to build an assembly and engine plant in Prachin Buri province.
Honda will also spend 2.03 billion baht to increase its Ayutthaya plant's annual production capacity to 300,000 vehicles by early next year.
=================================http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20130213D13JSN01.htm
Honda Gains Foothold In Kenya To Tap E Africa Car Market
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Honda Motor Co. (7267) has begun selling cars in Kenya through a partnership with a local dealership firm and plans to use this low-risk business model to expand into Tanzania and other East African countries.
The Japanese carmaker has joined forces with Dubai-based TransAfrica Motors Ltd., which has operations in Kenya's four major cities. Its dealerships there have begun carrying the low-priced compact hatchback Brio, imported from India, as well as the CR-V sport utility vehicle and Accord sedan, supplied from Japan, among other models.
Honda sees Kenya, with its emerging middle class, as a springboard for a broader expansion in East Africa. It has yet to establish a presence in these countries, where the car markets are still small compared with other parts of Africa.
The automaker opened an office in Kenya in 2012 to conduct market research, but it does not have a sales base there. Instead, its South African subsidiary will provide marketing support for the Kenyan dealerships.
Honda sold 13,373 cars in Africa in 2012, up 10% from the previous year but only half its 2007 tally. The firm marketed cars in Kenya with a different partner until around four years ago, but ended that relationship due to sluggish sales.
(The Nikkei Business Daily, Feb. 14 edition)
=============================
Comment