Honda bets on 'quirky' new cars to reverse European slump

Honda is aiming to grow its European marketplace footprint by producing “unique” cars that “touch the saccharine spot” for customers and large connected engineering supremacy.

The Japanese institution sold conscionable 72,000 cars successful Europe past twelvemonth - down from a grounds 313,000 income successful the portion arsenic precocious arsenic 2007, putting it astir level with compatriot luxury marque Lexus.

Mazda and Suzuki each much than doubled that fig successful the aforesaid period, portion adjacent struggling Nissan clocked astir 300,000 income and Toyota nudged 900,000. 

Honda’s European president, Hans De Jaeger, admitted to Autocar that the marque is “not a large player” successful the region, but helium outlined a program to turn volumes successful a “sustainable and steadfast way” by creating cars that are tailored much specifically to customers' demands and basal retired for being unsocial and putting a “smile” connected their faces.

De Jaeger was speaking astatine the Goodwood Festival of Speed, wherever Honda staged a nationalist debut for the Prelude HRC conception - a race-inspired reworking of its new hybrid sports coupé with show enhancements engineered by its motorsport division.

While helium didn't corroborate immoderate steadfast program to enactment the blistery coupé into production, De Jaeger pitched the conception arsenic emblematic of Honda’s program to instrumentality to its roots arsenic a marque that “stands for engineering dreams and gives products beyond customers’ expectations”.

Honda isn't aiming to “double oregon triple” its determination footprint but rather slowly summation its marketplace stock successful the EU, the UK and Turkey, which collectively relationship for astir 100,000 income per twelvemonth - and De Jaeger believes “the astir important” pillar of this strategy is to “bring a merchandise which touches the saccharine spot for our customers”.

He said the HRC amusement car, and so the modular Prelude connected which it's based, amusement that “we truly privation to bring that benignant of product” - and pointed besides to the caller Super-N metropolis car arsenic an illustration of however Honda volition subordinate mainstream trends to carve retired anew a chiseled marque positioning successful Europe.

Reaction to the blistery small EV has been “really, truly positive”, De Jaeger said, due to the fact that it embodies “the benignant of quirky joy” that Honda cars (such arsenic the 1980s City Turbo II that inspired the Super-N) were historically known for. 

“You person a grin connected your look erstwhile you thrust the car, but it’s besides precise practical, and that’s precisely what we privation to do: bring a merchandise which is simply a small spot much unsocial into the market,” helium said.

In this context, helium explained, Honda is “lucky that we are smaller” than rivals, because “if you participate into the battleground of mainstream models, it’s a precise hard market. We spot that with a batch of manufacturers.”

De Jaeger didn’t spell truthful acold arsenic to suggest Honda would bow retired of the highly competitory C-segment, in which it fields the Civic hatchback and CR-V and HR-V crossovers, but said: “The cardinal constituent for america is the USP of our merchandise and however we tin explicate to our customers astir that,”

This is peculiarly important, De Jaeger added, successful the discourse of caller entrants taking a rapidly expanding stock of the European car marketplace astatine the disbursal of bequest brands’.

“We person to admit that Chinese contention is precise severe and we person to accommodate - but besides we person to bring products which customers want," helium said.

He highlighted that Honda already has a “very high” lawsuit retention rate, truthful the Super-N’s relation is chiefly 1 of conquest, as “the introduction exemplary for young radical to recognize what Honda stands for”.

De Jaeger besides emphasised that Honda is “a small spot atypical” successful presumption of its car concern being conscionable 1 strand of a planetary empire that besides produces motorcycles, powerfulness tools, plot equipment, marine motors and more. This means the marque is palmy and good known acold extracurricular the automotive market and tin analyse “how we tin bring these customers besides towards the automobile business or vice versa”.

Indeed, Honda’s European car concern is simply a comparative minnow successful measurement presumption compared with its colossal motorcycle operation, which commands a 21% stock of the European marketplace and shifts 450,000 bikes crossed the portion each year.

“So successful presumption of contactable customers, we person a precise antithetic business,” said De Jaeger.

He said that portion this does not needfully mean coaxing CBR 1000 RR Fireblade owners into CR-Vs, determination “is a model of accidental wherever we tin further fortify our marque image” connected the car market.

“Our marque cognition for motorcycles is precise strong and adjacent stronger for marine and powerfulness products," helium continued, 'but for cars the ambition is we privation to person radical recognize what Honda stands for.”

Asked if that accent connected the unsocial attributes of Honda’s cars extends to adopting the aforesaid ‘no much boring cars’ mantra of Toyota president Akio Toyoda, Jaeger said: “Yes. Certainly with a tiny subordinate similar us, the mainstream is simply a precise competitory environment, and we person to look towards the opportunities wherever we tin participate into the marketplace and truly absorption connected customers who deliberation Honda brings added value.”