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  • Honda Motor Co., Ltd.; ) is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known

  • as a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment.

  • Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's

  • largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more

  • than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became the second-largest

  • Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001. Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer

  • in the world behind General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Hyundai Motor Group, Ford,

  • Nissan, and PSA in 2011. Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer

  • to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile

  • and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal

  • watercraft and power generators, amongst others. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial

  • intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. They have also

  • ventured into aerospace with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda

  • HA-420 HondaJet, which began production in 2012. Honda has three joint-ventures in China.

  • In 2013, Honda invested about 5.7% of its revenues in research and development. Also

  • in 2013, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to be a net exporter from the United States,

  • exporting 108,705 Honda and Acura models while importing only 88,357.

  • History As a young man, Honda's founder, Hondaichirō

  • had an interest in automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at the Art Shokai garage, where

  • he tuned cars and entered them in races. In 1937, with financing from his acquaintance

  • Kato Shichirō, Honda foundedkai Seiki to make piston rings working out of the Art

  • Shokai garage. After initial failures, Tōkai Seiki won a contract to supply piston rings

  • to Toyota, but lost the contract due to the poor quality of their products. After attending

  • engineering school without graduating, and visiting factories around Japan to better

  • understand Toyota's quality control processes, by 1941 Honda was able to mass-produce piston

  • rings acceptable to Toyota, using an automated process that could employ even unskilled wartime

  • laborers. Tōkai Seiki was placed under control of the

  • Ministry of Commerce and Industry at the start of World War II, and Soichiro Honda was demoted

  • from president to senior managing director after Toyota took a 40% stake in the company.

  • Honda also aided the war effort by assisting other companies in automating the production

  • of military aircraft propellers. The relationships Honda cultivated with personnel at Toyota,

  • Nakajima Aircraft Company and the Imperial Japanese Navy would be instrumental in the

  • postwar period. A US B-29 bomber attack destroyedkai Seiki's Yamashita plant in 1944, and

  • the Itawa plant collapsed in the 1945 Mikawa earthquake, and Soichiro Honda sold the salvageable

  • remains of the company to Toyota after the war for ¥450,000, and used the proceeds to

  • found the Honda Technical Research Institute in October 1946. With a staff of 12 men working

  • in a 16 m2 shack, they built and sold improvised motorized bicycles, using a supply of 500

  • two-stroke 50 cc Tohatsu war surplus radio generator engines. When the engines ran out,

  • Honda began building their own copy of the Tohatsu engine, and supplying these to customers

  • to attach their bicycles. This was the Honda Model A, nicknamed the Bata Bata for the sound

  • the engine made. In 1949, the Honda Technical Research Institute was liquidated for ¥1,000,000,

  • or about US$5,000 today; these funds were used to incorporate Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

  • At about the same time Honda hired engineer Kihachiro Kawashima, and Takeo Fujisawa who

  • provided indispensable business and marketing expertise to complement Soichiro Honda's technical

  • bent. The close partnership between Soichiro Honda and Fujisawa lasted until they stepped

  • down together in October 1973. The first complete motorcycle, with both the

  • frame and engine made by Honda, was the 1949 Model D, the first Honda to go by the name

  • Dream. Honda Motor Company grew in a short time to become the world's largest manufacturer

  • of motorcycles by 1964. The first production automobile from Honda

  • was the T360 mini pick-up truck, which went on sale in August 1963. Powered by a small

  • 356-cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket.

  • The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car, which followed the T360 into

  • production in October 1963. Its chain-driven rear wheels pointed to Honda's motorcycle

  • origins. Over the next few decades, Honda worked to

  • expand its product line and expanded operations and exports to numerous countries around the

  • world. In 1986, Honda introduced the successful Acura brand to the American market in an attempt

  • to gain ground in the luxury vehicle market. The year 1991 saw the introduction of the

  • Honda NSX supercar, the first all-aluminum monocoque vehicle that incorporated a mid-engine

  • V6 with variable-valve timing. CEO Tadashi Kume was succeeded by Nobuhiko

  • Kawamoto in 1990. Kawamoto was selected over Shoichiro Irimajiri, who oversaw the successful

  • establishment of Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. in Marysville, Ohio. Both Kawamoto and

  • Irimajiri shared a friendly rivalry within Honda, and Irimajiri would resign in 1992

  • due to health issues. Following the death of Soichiro Honda and

  • the departure of Irimajiri, Honda found itself quickly being outpaced in product development

  • by other Japanese automakers and was caught off-guard by the truck and sport utility vehicle

  • boom of the 1990s, all which took a toll on the profitability of the company. Japanese

  • media reported in 1992 and 1993 that Honda was at serious risk of an unwanted and hostile

  • takeover by Mitsubishi Motors, who at the time was a larger automaker by volume and

  • flush with profits from their successful Pajero and Diamante.

  • Kawamoto acted quickly to change Honda's corporate culture, rushing through market-driven product

  • development that resulted in recreational vehicles such as the Odyssey and the CR-V,

  • and a refocusing away from some of the numerous sedans and coupes that were popular with Honda's

  • engineers but not with the buying public. The most shocking change to Honda came when

  • Kawamoto ended Honda's successful participation in Formula One after the 1992 season, citing

  • costs in light of the takeover threat from Mitsubishi as well as the desire to create

  • a more environmentally-friendly company image. Later, 1995 gave rise to the Honda Aircraft

  • Company with the goal of producing jet aircraft under Honda's name.

  • Corporate profile and divisions

  • Honda is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Their shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

  • and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as exchanges in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto,

  • Fukuoka, London, Paris and Switzerland. The company has assembly plants around the

  • globe. These plants are located in China, the United States, Pakistan, Canada, England,

  • Japan, Belgium, Brazil, México, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Thailand,

  • Vietnam, Turkey, Taiwan, Perú and Argentina. As of July 2010, 89 percent of Honda and Acura

  • vehicles sold in the United States were built in North American plants, up from 82.2 percent

  • a year earlier. This shields profits from the yen's advance to a 15-year high against

  • the dollar. Honda's Net Sales and Other Operating Revenue

  • by Geographical Regions in 2007 American Honda Motor Company is based in Torrance,

  • California. Honda Racing Corporation is Honda's motorcycle racing division. Honda Canada Inc.

  • is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, their manufacturing division, Honda of Canada Manufacturing,

  • is based in Alliston, Ontario. Honda has also created joint ventures around the world, such

  • as Honda Siel Cars and Hero Honda Motorcycles in India, Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Honda

  • in China, Boon Siew Honda in Malaysia and Honda Atlas in Pakistan.

  • Following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 Honda announced plans to halve

  • production at its UK plants. The decision was made to put staff at the Swindon plant

  • on a 2-day week until the end of May as the manufacturer struggled to source supplies

  • from Japan. It's thought around 22,500 cars were produced during this period.

  • Leadership Products

  • Automobiles

  • Honda's global lineup consists of the Fit, Civic, Accord, Insight, CR-V, CR-Z, Legend

  • and two versions of the Odyssey, one for North America, and a smaller vehicle sold internationally.

  • An early proponent of developing vehicles to cater to different needs and markets worldwide,

  • Honda's lineup varies by country and may have vehicles exclusive to that region. A few examples

  • are the latest Honda Odyssey minivan and the Ridgeline, Honda's first light-duty uni-body

  • pickup truck. Both were designed and engineered primarily in North America and are produced

  • there. Other example of exclusive models includes the Honda Civic five-door hatchback sold in

  • Europe. Honda's automotive manufacturing ambitions

  • can be traced back to 1963, with the Honda T360, a kei car truck built for the Japanese

  • market. This was followed by the two-door roadster, the Honda S500 also introduced in

  • 1963. In 1965, Honda built a two-door commercial delivery van, called the Honda L700. Honda's

  • first four-door sedan was not the Accord, but the air-cooled, four-cylinder, gasoline-powered

  • Honda 1300 in 1969. The Civic was a hatchback that gained wide popularity internationally,

  • but it wasn't the first two-door hatchback built. That was the Honda N360, another Kei

  • car that was adapted for international sale as the N600. The Civic, which appeared in

  • 1972 and replaced the N600 also had a smaller sibling that replaced the air-cooled N360,

  • called the Honda Life that was water-cooled. The Honda Life represented Honda's efforts

  • in competing in the kei car segment, offering sedan, delivery van and small pick-up platforms

  • on a shared chassis. The Life StepVan had a novel approach that, while not initially

  • a commercial success, appears to be an influence in vehicles with the front passengers sitting

  • behind the engine, a large cargo area with a flat roof and a liftgate installed in back,

  • and utilizing a transversely installed engine with a front-wheel-drive powertrain.

  • As Honda entered into automobile manufacturing in the late 1960s, where Japanese manufacturers

  • such as Toyota and Nissan had been making cars since before WWII, it appears that Honda

  • instilled a sense of doing things a little differently than its Japanese competitors.

  • Its mainstay products, like the Accord and Civic, have always employed front-wheel-drive

  • powertrain implementation, which is currently a long held Honda tradition. Honda also installed

  • new technologies into their products, first as optional equipment, then later standard,

  • like anti lock brakes, speed sensitive power steering, and multi-port fuel injection in

  • the early 1980s. This desire to be the first to try new approaches is evident with the

  • creation of the first Japanese luxury chain Acura, and was also evident with the all aluminum,

  • mid-engined sports car, the Honda NSX, which also introduced variable valve timing technology,

  • Honda calls VTEC. The Civic is a line of compact cars developed

  • and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously

  • running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only its perennial rival, the Toyota Corolla,

  • introduced in 1968, has been in production longer. The Civic, along with the Accord and

  • Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model

  • lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become

  • larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.

  • Honda produces Civic hybrid, a hybrid electric vehicle that competes with the Toyota Prius,

  • and also produces the Insight and CR-Z. In 2008, Honda increased global production

  • to meet demand for small cars and hybrids in the U.S. and emerging markets. The company

  • shuffled U.S. production to keep factories busy and boost car output, while building

  • fewer minivans and sport utility vehicles as light truck sales fell.

  • Its first entrance into the pickup segment, the light duty Ridgeline, won Truck of the

  • Year from Motor Trend magazine in 2006. Also in 2006, the redesigned Civic won Car of the

  • Year from the magazine, giving Honda a rare double win of Motor Trend honors.

  • It is reported that Honda plans to increase hybrid sales in Japan to more than 20% of

  • its total sales in fiscal year 2011, from 14.8% in previous year.

  • Five of United States Environmental Protection Agency's top ten most fuel-efficient cars

  • from 1984 to 2010 comes from Honda, more than any other automakers. The five models are:

  • 2000–2006 Honda Insight, 1986–1987 Honda Civic Coupe HF, 1994–1995 Honda Civic hatchback

  • VX, 2006– Honda Civic Hybrid, and 2010– Honda Insight. The ACEEE has also rated the

  • Civic GX as the greenest car in America for seven consecutive years.

  • Motorcycles

  • Honda is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan and has been since it started production

  • in 1955. At its peak in 1982, Honda manufactured almost three million motorcycles annually.

  • By 2006 this figure had reduced to around 550,000 but was still higher than its three

  • domestic competitors. During the 1960s, when it was a small manufacturer,

  • Honda broke out of the Japanese motorcycle market and began exporting to the U.S. Working

  • with the advertising agency Grey Advertising, Honda created an innovative marketing campaign,

  • using the slogan "You meet the nicest people on a Honda." In contrast to the prevailing

  • negative stereotypes of motorcyclists in America as tough, antisocial rebels, this campaign

  • suggested that Honda motorcycles were made for the everyman. The campaign was hugely

  • successful; the ads ran for three years, and by the end of 1963 alone, Honda had sold 90,000

  • motorcycles. Taking Honda's story as an archetype of the

  • smaller manufacturer entering a new market already occupied by highly dominant competitors,

  • the story of their market entry, and their subsequent huge success in the U.S. and around

  • the world, has been the subject of some academic controversy. Competing explanations have been

  • advanced to explain Honda's strategy and the reasons for their success.

  • The first of these explanations was put forward when, in 1975, Boston Consulting Group was

  • commissioned by the UK government to write a report explaining why and how the British

  • motorcycle industry had been out-competed by its Japanese competitors. The report concluded

  • that the Japanese firms, including Honda, had sought a very high scale of production

  • in order to benefit from economies of scale and learning curve effects. It blamed the

  • decline of the British motorcycle industry on the failure of British managers to invest

  • enough in their businesses to profit from economies of scale and scope.

  • The second explanation was offered in 1984 by Richard Pascale, who had interviewed the

  • Honda executives responsible for the firm's entry into the U.S. market. As opposed to

  • the tightly focused strategy of low cost and high scale that BCG accredited to Honda, Pascale

  • found that their entry into the U.S. market was a story of "miscalculation, serendipity,

  • and organizational learning" – in other words, Honda's success was due to the adaptability

  • and hard work of its staff, rather than any long term strategy. For example, Honda's initial

  • plan on entering the US was to compete in large motorcycles, around 300 cc. Honda's

  • motorcycles in this class suffered performance and reliability problems when ridden the relatively

  • long distances of the US highways. When the team found that the scooters they were using

  • to get themselves around their U.S. base of San Francisco attracted positive interest

  • from consumers that they fell back on selling the Super Cub instead.

  • The most recent school of thought on Honda's strategy was put forward by Gary Hamel and

  • C. K. Prahalad in 1989. Creating the concept of core competencies with Honda as an example,

  • they argued that Honda's success was due to its focus on leadership in the technology

  • of internal combustion engines. For example, the high power-to-weight ratio engines Honda

  • produced for its racing bikes provided technology and expertise which was transferable into

  • mopeds. Honda's entry into the U.S. motorcycle market during the 1960s is used as a case

  • study for teaching introductory strategy at business schools worldwide.

  • Power equipment Production started in 1953 with H-type engine.

  • Honda power equipment reached record sales in 2007 with 6.4 million units. By 2010 this

  • figure had decreased to 4,7 million units. Cumulative production of power products has

  • exceeded 85 million units. Honda power equipment includes:

  • Engines

  • Honda engines powered the entire 33-car starting field of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 and for

  • the fifth consecutive race, there were no engine-related retirements during the running

  • of the Memorial Day Classic. Honda, despite being known as an engine company,

  • has never built a V8 for passenger vehicles. In the late 1990s, the company resisted considerable

  • pressure from its American dealers for a V8 engine, with American Honda reportedly sending

  • one dealer a shipment of V8 beverages to silence them. Honda considered starting V8 production

  • in the mid-2000s for larger Acura sedans, a new version of the high end NSX sports car

  • and possible future ventures into the American full-size truck and SUV segment for both the

  • Acura and Honda brands, but this was cancelled in late 2008, with Honda citing environmental

  • and worldwide economic conditions as reasons for the termination of this project.

  • Robots

  • ASIMO is the part of Honda's Research & Development robotics program. It is the eleventh in a

  • line of successive builds starting in 1986 with Honda E0 moving through the ensuing Honda

  • E series and the Honda P series. Weighing 54 kilograms and standing 130 centimeters

  • tall, ASIMO resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack, and can walk on two feet in a

  • manner resembling human locomotion, at up tokm/h. ASIMO is the world's only humanoid

  • robot able to ascend and descend stairs independently. However, human motions such as climbing stairs

  • are difficult to mimic with a machine, which ASIMO has demonstrated by taking two plunges

  • off a staircase. Honda's robot ASIMO as an R&D project brings

  • together expertise to create a robot that walks, dances and navigates steps. 2010 marks

  • the year Honda has developed a machine capable of reading a user's brainwaves to move ASIMO.

  • The system uses a helmet covered with electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy sensors that

  • monitor electrical brainwaves and cerebral blood flowsignals that alter slightly during

  • the human thought process. The user thinks of one of a limited number of gestures it

  • wants from the robot, which has been fitted with a Brain Machine Interface.

  • Aircraft

  • Honda has also pioneered new technology in its HA-420 HondaJet, manufactured by its subsidiary

  • Honda Aircraft Company, which allows new levels of reduced drag, increased aerodynamics and

  • fuel efficiency thus reducing operating costs. Solar cells

  • Honda's solar cell subsidiary company Honda Soltec started sales throughout Japan of thin-film

  • solar cells for public and industrial use on 24 October 2008, after selling solar cells

  • for residential use since October 2007. Honda announced in the end of October 2013 that

  • Honda Soltec would cease the business operation except for support for existing customers

  • in Spring 2014 and the subsidiary would be dissolved.

  • Mountain bikes

  • Honda has also built a downhill racing bicycle known as the Honda RN-01. It is not available

  • for sale to the public. The bike has a gearbox, which replaces the standard derailleur found

  • on most bikes. Honda has hired several people to pilot the

  • bike, among them Greg Minnaar. The team is known as Team G Cross Honda.

  • ATV

  • Honda also builds all-terrain vehicles. 450r 400ex 300ex 250r

  • Motorsports Honda has been active in motorsports, like

  • Motorcycle Grand Prix, Superbike racing and others.

  • Automobile

  • Honda entered Formula One as a constructor for the first time in the 1964 season at the

  • German Grand Prix with Ronnie Bucknum at the wheel. 1965 saw the addition of Richie Ginther

  • to the team, who scored Honda's first point at the Belgian Grand Prix, and Honda's first

  • win at the Mexican Grand Prix. 1967 saw their next win at the Italian Grand Prix with John

  • Surtees as their driver. In 1968, Jo Schlesser was killed in a Honda RA302 at the French

  • Grand Prix. This racing tragedy, coupled with their commercial difficulties selling automobiles

  • in the United States, prompted Honda to withdraw from all international motorsport that year.

  • After a learning year in 1965, Honda-powered Brabhams dominated the 1966 French Formula

  • Two championship in the hands of Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme. As there was no European

  • Championship that season, this was the top F2 championship that year. In the early 1980s

  • Honda returned to F2, supplying engines to Ron Tauranac's Ralt team. Tauranac had designed

  • the Brabham cars for their earlier involvement. They were again extremely successful. In a

  • related exercise, John Judd's Engine Developments company produced a turbo "Brabham-Honda" engine

  • for use in IndyCar racing. It won only one race, in 1988 for Bobby Rahal at Pocono.

  • Honda returned to Formula One in 1983, initially with another Formula Two partner, the Spirit

  • team, before switching abruptly to Williams in 1984. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,

  • Honda powered cars won six consecutive Formula One Constructors Championships. WilliamsF1

  • won the crown in 1986 and 1987. Honda switched allegiance again in 1988. New partners Team

  • McLaren won the title in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. Honda withdrew from Formula One

  • at the end of 1992, although the related Mugen-Honda company maintained a presence up to the end

  • of 1999, winning four races with Ligier and Jordan Grand Prix.

  • Honda debuted in the CART IndyCar World Series as a works supplier in 1994. The engines were

  • far from competitive at first, but after development, the company powered six consecutive drivers

  • championships. In 2003, Honda transferred its effort to the rival IRL IndyCar Series.

  • In 2004, Honda-powered cars overwhelmingly dominated the IndyCar Series, winning 14 of

  • 16 IndyCar races, including the Indianapolis 500, and claimed the IndyCar Series Manufacturers'

  • Championship, Drivers' Championship and Rookie of the Year titles. In 2006, Honda became

  • the sole engine supplier for the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500. In the 2006

  • Indianapolis 500, for the first time in Indianapolis 500 history, the race was run without a single

  • engine problem. During 1998, Honda considered returning to

  • Formula One with their own team. The project was aborted after the death of its technical

  • director, Harvey Postlethwaite. Honda instead came back as an official engine supplier to

  • British American Racing and Jordan Grand Prix. Honda bought a stake in the BAR team in 2004

  • before buying the team outright at the end of 2005, becoming a constructor for the first

  • time since the 1960s. Honda won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix with driver Jenson Button.

  • It was announced on 5 December 2008, that Honda would be exiting Formula One with immediate

  • effect due to the 2008 global economic crisis. The team was sold to former team principal

  • Ross Brawn, renamed Brawn GP and subsequently Mercedes.

  • Honda became an official works team in the British Touring Car Championship in 2010.

  • Honda made an official announcement on 16 May 2013 that it will re-enter Formula One

  • racing in 2015 as an engine supplier to the McLaren team.

  • Motorcycles

  • Honda Racing Corporation was formed in 1982. The company combines participation in motorcycle

  • races throughout the world with the development of high potential racing machines. Its racing

  • activities are an important source for the creation of leading edge technologies used

  • in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC also contributes to the advancement of motorcycle

  • sports through a range of activities that include sales of production racing motorcycles,

  • support for satellite teams, and rider education programs.

  • Soichiro Honda, being a race driver himself, could not stay out of international motorsport.

  • In 1959, Honda entered five motorcycles into the Isle of Man TT race, the most prestigious

  • motorcycle race in the world. While always having powerful engines, it took until 1961

  • for Honda to tune their chassis well enough to allow Mike Hailwood to claim their first

  • Grand Prix victories in the 125 and 250 cc classes. Hailwood would later pick up their

  • first Senior TT wins in 1966 and 1967. Honda's race bikes were known for their "sleek & stylish

  • design" and exotic engine configurations, such as the 5-cylinder, 22,000 rpm, 125 cc

  • bike and their 6-cylinder 250 cc and 297 cc bikes.

  • In 1979, Honda returned to Grand Prix motorcycle racing with the monocoque-framed, four-stroke

  • NR500. The FIM rules limited engines to four cylinders, so the NR500 had non-circular,

  • 'race-track', cylinders, each with 8 valves and two connecting rods, in order to provide

  • sufficient valve area to compete with the dominant two-stroke racers. Unfortunately,

  • it seemed Honda tried to accomplish too much at one time and the experiment failed. For

  • the 1982 season, Honda debuted their first two-stroke race bike, the NS500 and in 1983,

  • Honda won their first 500 cc Grand Prix World Championship with Freddie Spencer. Since then,

  • Honda has become a dominant marque in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, winning a plethora of top

  • level titles with riders such as Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi.

  • In the Motocross World Championship, Honda has claimed six world championships. In the

  • World Enduro Championship, Honda has captured eight titles, most recently with Stefan Merriman

  • in 2003 and with Mika Ahola from 2007 to 2010. In observed trials, Honda has claimed three

  • world championships with Belgian rider Eddy Lejeune.

  • Electric and alternative fuel vehicles

  • Compressed natural gas The Honda Civic GX is the only purpose-built

  • natural gas vehicle commercially available in some parts of the U.S. The Honda Civic

  • GX first appeared in 1998 as a factory-modified Civic LX that had been designed to run exclusively

  • on compressed natural gas. The car looks and drives just like a contemporary Honda Civic

  • LX, but does not run on gasoline. In 2001, the Civic GX was rated the cleanest-burning

  • internal combustion engine in the world by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  • First leased to the City of Los Angeles, in 2005, Honda started offering the GX directly

  • to the public through factory trained dealers certified to service the GX. Before that,

  • only fleets were eligible to purchase a new Civic GX. In 2006, the Civic GX was released

  • in New York, making it the second state where the consumer is able to buy the car. Home

  • refueling is available for the GX with the addition of the Phill Home Refueling Appliance.

  • Flexible-fuel Honda's Brazilian subsidiary launched flexible-fuel

  • versions for the Honda Civic and Honda Fit in late 2006. As other Brazilian flex-fuel

  • vehicles, these models run on any blend of hydrous ethanol and E20-E25 gasoline. Initially,

  • and in order to test the market preferences, the carmaker decided to produce a limited

  • share of the vehicles with flex-fuel engines, 33 percent of the Civic production and 28

  • percent of the Fit models. Also, the sale price for the flex-fuel version was higher

  • than the respective gasoline versions, around US$1,000 premium for the Civic, and US$650

  • for the Fit, despite the fact that all other flex-fuel vehicles sold in Brazil had the

  • same tag price as their gasoline versions. In July 2009, Honda launched in the Brazilian

  • market its third flexible-fuel car, the Honda City.

  • During the last two months of 2006, both flex-fuel models sold 2,427 cars against 8,546 gasoline-powered

  • automobiles, jumping to 41,990 flex-fuel cars in 2007, and reaching 93,361 in 2008. Due

  • to the success of the flex versions, by early 2009 a hundred percent of Honda's automobile

  • production for the Brazilian market is now flexible-fuel, and only a small percentage

  • of gasoline version is produced in Brazil for exports.

  • In March 2009, Honda launched in the Brazilian market the first flex-fuel motorcycle in the

  • world. Produced by its Brazilian subsidiary Moto Honda da Amazônia, the CG 150 Titan

  • Mix is sold for around US$2,700. Hybrid electric

  • In late 1999, Honda launched the first commercial hybrid electric car sold in the U.S. market,

  • the Honda Insight, just one month before the introduction of the Toyota Prius, and initially

  • sold for US$20,000. The first-generation Insight was produced from 2000 to 2006 and had a fuel

  • economy of 70 miles per US gallon for the EPA's highway rating, the most fuel-efficient

  • mass-produced car at the time. Total global sales for the Insight amounted to only around

  • 18,000 vehicles. Honda introduced the second-generation Insight

  • in its home nation of Japan in February 2009, and released it in other markets through 2009

  • and in the U.S. market in April 2009. At $19,800 as a five-door hatchback it will be the least

  • expensive hybrid available in the U.S. Honda expects to sell 200,000 of the vehicles each

  • year, with half of those sales in the United States.

  • Since 2002, Honda has also been selling the Honda Civic Hybrid in the U.S. market. It

  • was followed by the Honda Accord Hybrid, offered in model years 2005 through 2007. Sales of

  • the Honda CR-Z began in Japan in February 2010, becoming Honda's third hybrid electric

  • car in the market. In an interview in early February 2011, a

  • Honda executive disclosed that Honda produces around 200,000 hybrids a year in Japan.

  • Hydrogen fuel cell In Takanezawa, Japan, on 16 June 2008, Honda

  • Motors produced the first assembly-line FCX Clarity, a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

  • More efficient than a gas-electric hybrid vehicle, the FCX Clarity combines hydrogen

  • and oxygen from ordinary air to generate electricity for an electric motor.

  • The vehicle itself does not emit any pollutants and its only by products are heat and water.

  • The FCX Clarity also has an advantage over gas-electric hybrids in that it does not use

  • an internal combustion engine to propel itself. Like a gas-electric hybrid, it uses a lithium

  • ion battery to assist the fuel cell during acceleration and capture energy through regenerative

  • braking, thus improving fuel efficiency. The lack of hydrogen filling stations throughout

  • developed countries will keep production volumes low. Honda will release the vehicle in groups

  • of 150. California is the only U.S. market with infrastructure for fueling such a vehicle,

  • though the number of stations is still limited. Building more stations is expensive, as the

  • California Air Resources Board granted $6.8 million for four H2 fueling stations, costing $1.7 million

  • USD each. Marketing

  • Japan

  • Starting in 1978, Honda in Japan decided to diversify their sales distribution channels,

  • and created Honda Verno, which sold established products with a higher content of standard

  • equipment and a more sporting nature. The establishment of Honda Verno coincided with

  • its new sports compact, called the Honda Prelude. Later, the Honda Vigor, the Honda Ballade,

  • and the Honda Quint were added to Honda Verno stores. This approach was implemented due

  • to efforts in place by rival Japanese automakers Toyota and Nissan.

  • As sales progressed, Honda created two more sales channels, called Honda Clio in 1984,

  • and Honda Primo in 1985. The Honda Clio chain sold products that were traditionally associated

  • with Honda dealerships before 1978, like the Honda Accord, and Honda Primo sold the Honda

  • Civic, kei cars, such as the Honda Today, superminis like the Honda Capa, along with

  • other Honda products, such as farm equipment, lawn mowers, portable generators, marine equipment,

  • motorcycles, and scooters. A styling tradition was established when Honda Primo and Clio

  • began operations, in that all Verno products had the rear license plate installed in the

  • rear bumper, while Primo and Clio products had the rear license plate installed on the

  • trunk lid or rear door for minivans. As time progressed and sales began to diminish

  • partly due to the collapse of the Japanese "bubble economy", "supermini" and "kei" vehicles

  • that were specific to Honda Primo were "badge engineered" and sold at the other two sales

  • channels, thereby providing smaller vehicles that sold better at both Honda Verno and Honda

  • Clio locations. As of March 2006, the three sales chains were discontinued, with the establishment

  • of Honda Cars dealerships. Honda sells genuine accessories through a

  • separate retail chain called Honda Access for both their motorcycle, scooter and automobile

  • products. In cooperation with corporate "keiretsu" partner Pioneer, Honda sells an aftermarket

  • line of audio and in-car navigation equipment that can be installed in any vehicle under

  • the brand name Gathers, which is available at Honda Access locations as well as Japanese

  • auto parts retailers, such as Autobacs. Buyers of used vehicles are directed to a specific

  • Honda retail chain that sells only used vehicles called Honda Auto Terrace.

  • In the spring of 2012, Honda in Japan introduced Honda Cars Small Store which is devoted to

  • compact cars like the Honda Fit, and kei vehicles like the Honda Today.

  • All cars sold at Honda Verno Prelude, Integra, CR-X, Vigor, Saber, Ballade,

  • Quint, Crossroad, Element, NSX, HR-V, Mobilio Spike, S2000, CR-V, That's, MDX, Rafaga, Capa,

  • and the Torneo All cars sold at Honda Clio

  • Accord, Legend, Inspire, Avancier, S-MX, Lagreat, Stepwgn, Elysion, Stream, Odyssey, Domani,

  • Concerto, Accord Tourer, Logo, Fit, Insight, That's, Mobilio, and the City

  • All cars sold at Honda Primo Civic, Life, Acty, Vamos, Hobio, Ascot, Ascot

  • Innova, Torneo, Civic Ferio, Freed, Mobilio, Orthia, Capa, Today, Z, and the Beat

  • International efforts In 2003, Honda released its Cog advertisement

  • in the UK and on the Internet. To make the ad, the engineers at Honda constructed a Rube

  • Goldberg Machine made entirely out of car parts from a Honda Accord Touring. To the

  • chagrin of the engineers at Honda, all the parts were taken from two of only six hand-assembled

  • pre-production models of the Accord. The advertisement depicted a single cog which sets off a chain

  • of events that ends with the Honda Accord moving and Garrison Keillor speaking the tagline,

  • "Isn't it nice when things just... work?" It took 606 takes to get it perfect.

  • In 2004, they produced the Grrr advert, usually immediately followed by a shortened version

  • of the 2005 Impossible Dream advert.

  • In December 2005, Honda released The Impossible Dream a two-minute panoramic advertisement

  • filmed in New Zealand, Japan and Argentina which illustrates the founder's dream to build

  • performance vehicles. While singing the song "Impossible Dream", a man reaches for his

  • racing helmet, leaves his trailer on a minibike, then rides a succession of vintage Honda vehicles:

  • a motorcycle, then a car, then a powerboat, then goes over a waterfall only to reappear

  • piloting a hot air balloon, with Garrison Keillor saying "I couldn't have put it better

  • myself" as the song ends. The song is from the 1960s musical Man Of La Mancha, sung by

  • Andy Williams. In 2006, Honda released its Choir advertisement,

  • for the UK and the internet. This had a 60-person choir who sang the car noises as film of the

  • Honda Civic are shown. In the mid to late 2000s in the United States,

  • during model close-out sales for the current year before the start of the new model year,

  • Honda's advertising has had an animated character known simply as Mr. Opportunity, voiced by

  • Rob Paulsen. The casual looking man talked about various deals offered by Honda and ended

  • with the phrase "I'm Mr. Opportunity, and I'm knockin'", followed by him "knocking"

  • on the television screen or "thumping" the speaker at the end of radio ads. In addition,

  • commercials for Honda's international hatchback, the Jazz, are parodies of well-known pop culture

  • images such as Tetris and Thomas The Tank Engine.

  • In late 2006, Honda released an ad with ASIMO exploring a museum, looking at the exhibits

  • with almost childlike wonderment, while Garrison Keillor ruminates on progress. It concludes

  • with the tagline: "More forwards please". Honda also sponsored ITV's coverage of Formula

  • One in the UK for 2007. However they had announced that they would not continue in 2008 due to

  • the sponsorship price requested by ITV being too high.

  • In May 2007, focuses on their strengths in racing and the use of the Red H badge – a

  • symbol of what is termed as "Hondamentalism". The campaign highlights the lengths that Honda

  • engineers go to in order to get the most out of an engine, whether it is for bikes, cars,

  • powerboatseven lawnmowers. Honda released its Hondamentalism campaign. In the TV spot,

  • Garrison Keillor says, "An engineer once said to build something great is like swimming

  • in honey", while Honda engineers in white suits walk and run towards a great light,

  • battling strong winds and flying debris, holding on to anything that will keep them from being

  • blown away. Finally one of the engineers walks towards a red light, his hand outstretched.

  • A web address is shown for the Hondamentalism website. The digital campaign aims to show

  • how visitors to the site share many of the Hondamentalist characteristics.

  • At the beginning of 2008, Honda releasedthe Problem Playground. The advert outlines Honda's

  • environmental responsibility, demonstrating a hybrid engine, more efficient solar panels

  • and the FCX Clarity, a hydrogen powered car. The 90 second advert has large scale puzzles,

  • involving Rubik's Cubes, large shapes and a 3-dimensional puzzle.

  • On 29 May 2008, Honda, in partnership with Channel 4, broadcast a live advertisement.

  • It showed skydivers jumping from an aeroplane over Spain and forming the letters H, O, N,

  • D and A in mid-air. This live advertisement is generally agreed to be the first of its

  • kind on British television. The advert lasted three minutes.

  • In 2009, American Honda released the Dream the Impossible documentary series, a collection

  • of 5–8 minute web vignettes that focus on the core philosophies of Honda. Current short

  • films include Failure: The Secret to Success, Kick Out the Ladder and Mobility 2088. They

  • have Honda employees as well as Danica Patrick, Christopher Guest, Ben Bova, Chee Pearlman,

  • Joe Johnston and Orson Scott Card. The film series plays at dreams.honda.com.

  • Sports In Australia, Honda advertised heavily during

  • most motor racing telecasts, and was the official sponsor of the 2006 FIA Formula 1 telecast

  • on broadcaster channel "Ten". In fact, it was the only manufacturer involved in the

  • 2006 Indy Racing League season. In a series of adverts promoting the history of Honda's

  • racing heritage, Honda claimed it "built" cars that won 72 Formula 1 Grand Prix. Skeptics

  • have accused Honda of interpreting its racing history rather liberally, saying that virtually

  • all of the 72 victories were achieved by Honda powered machines, whereas the cars themselves

  • were designed and built by Lotus F1, Williams F1, and McLaren F1 teams, respectively. However,

  • former and current staff of the McLaren F1 team have reiterated that Honda contributed

  • more than just engines and provided various chassis, tooling, and aerodynamic parts as

  • well as funding. . The late F1 driver Ayrton Senna stated that

  • Honda probably played the most significant role in his three world championships. He

  • had immense respect for founder, Soichiro Honda, and had a good relationship with Nobuhiko

  • Kawamoto, the chairman of Honda at that time. Senna once called Honda "the greatest company

  • in the world". As part of its marketing campaign, Honda is

  • an official partner and sponsor of the National Hockey League, the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL,

  • and the arena named after it: Honda Center. Honda also sponsors The Honda Classic golf

  • tournament and is a sponsor of Major League Soccer. The "Honda Player of the Year" award

  • is presented in United States soccer. The "Honda Sports Award" is given to the best

  • female athlete in each of twelve college sports in the United States. One of the twelve Honda

  • Sports Award winners is chosen to receive the Honda-Broderick Cup, as "Collegiate Woman

  • Athlete of the Year." Honda will sponsoring La Liga club Valencia

  • CF starting from 2014-15 season. Valencia CF will carry Honda Cars Valencia insignia

  • at their football kits. Honda has been a presenting sponsor of the

  • Los Angeles Marathon since 2010 in a three-year sponsorship deal with winners of the LA Marathon

  • receiving a free Honda Accord. Since 1989, the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge has been

  • a quizbowl tournament for Historically black colleges and universities.

  • Facilities

  • Mainstream models

  • US sales Production numbers

  • See also

  • Comparison of Honda water-pumps Honda advanced technology

  • Honda Airport Honda Battle of the Bands

  • Honda F.C. club) Honda Heat

  • Honda Type R List of Honda assembly plants

  • List of Honda transmissions Internavi

  • Notes

  • References "Move Over, Volvo: Honda Sets New Safety Standard

  • for Itself", an article in the "News" section of the March 2004 issue of Motor Trend, on

  • page 32 "Annual Reports". Investor Relations. Honda

  • Motor CoThe story of Honda's entry and growth in the

  • American market is documented in Terry Sanders' film The Japan Project: Made in Japan. Honda

  • Honda's Midlife Crisis: Honda's slipping market position and views of Fukui Takeo

  • Honda's Corporate History External links

  • Honda Worldwide site Honda Press Library

  • Honda Automobiles at DMOZ Honda Motorcycles at DMOZ

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.; ) is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known

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