Honda Motor Co., winning in the U.S. market, is stumbling at home
03-19-2003, 01:05 PM
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Honda Motor Co., winning in the U.S. market, is stumbling at home
For Honda, home is not a haven as sales continue to slide
By YUZO YAMAGUCHI | Automotive News
TOKYO - Honda Motor Co., winning in the U.S. market, is stumbling at home.
In February, Honda posted the biggest drop in Japanese sales of any of Japan's Big 5 carmakers: 21.4 percent. That fall, to 62,596 units, marked the fifth straight month of decline. The slide contrasts with an 18.3 percent leap that Honda Division reported in the softer U.S. market in February.
One reason: Honda has depended too much on the Fit compact at home. The 2002 Japanese best seller remained on top in January and ranked No. 2 in February but has not been good enough to offset lackluster sales of other Honda models.
Since its June 2001 debut, Fit sales have totaled 388,140, a monthly average of 19,229.
Sales of once-popular, high-margin minivans such as the Odyssey, StepWGN and Stream have stalled. The Civic and Legend also have lost ground, although the revamped Accord has fared better.
Analysts say the Fit has cannibalized sales of those other models.
"The Fit seems like a double-edged sword for Honda," said Shigeharu Kimishima, a Mitsubishi Securities Co. analyst.
Another reason for Honda's tumble here is that its rivals are beefing up. Nissan Motor Co., for example, has made an aggressive push into the small-car segment with the March and Cube, targeting the same buyers as the Fit.
Toyota Motor Corp. has shifted minivans into high gear. It unveiled the Wish in January as a direct rival of the Honda Stream.
Honda is feeling the pressure. In January, it cut its Japanese sales estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31 by 2.2 percent to 880,000. That change followed a downward revision in October.
After it had brought in the Fit Aria, a small sedan built in Thailand, in December, the automaker started offering the MDX sport-utility on Mar. 14. The MDX is built in Canada. The Element, which is made in the United States, will arrive after April. Analysts also expect Honda to redesign the Acura TL, known as the Saber/Inspire in Japan, this year.
But analysts question whether these upcoming models will be enough to reverse Honda's downward path. The MDX, priced at ¥4.85 million, or about $40,000, and the youth-oriented Element are not expected to be high-volume models.
"They'll have few new models to respond to the Japanese market," says Masahiro Yamaki, an analyst at Quick Business Research Institute in Tokyo. "They only have the Fit."
Yamaki and other analysts expect Honda to remain strong in the U.S. market with better-performing models than the Big 3's, even if the market gets softer. So Honda may have to continue depending on the U.S. market for the time being.
By YUZO YAMAGUCHI | Automotive News
TOKYO - Honda Motor Co., winning in the U.S. market, is stumbling at home.
In February, Honda posted the biggest drop in Japanese sales of any of Japan's Big 5 carmakers: 21.4 percent. That fall, to 62,596 units, marked the fifth straight month of decline. The slide contrasts with an 18.3 percent leap that Honda Division reported in the softer U.S. market in February.
One reason: Honda has depended too much on the Fit compact at home. The 2002 Japanese best seller remained on top in January and ranked No. 2 in February but has not been good enough to offset lackluster sales of other Honda models.
Since its June 2001 debut, Fit sales have totaled 388,140, a monthly average of 19,229.
Sales of once-popular, high-margin minivans such as the Odyssey, StepWGN and Stream have stalled. The Civic and Legend also have lost ground, although the revamped Accord has fared better.
Analysts say the Fit has cannibalized sales of those other models.
"The Fit seems like a double-edged sword for Honda," said Shigeharu Kimishima, a Mitsubishi Securities Co. analyst.
Another reason for Honda's tumble here is that its rivals are beefing up. Nissan Motor Co., for example, has made an aggressive push into the small-car segment with the March and Cube, targeting the same buyers as the Fit.
Toyota Motor Corp. has shifted minivans into high gear. It unveiled the Wish in January as a direct rival of the Honda Stream.
Honda is feeling the pressure. In January, it cut its Japanese sales estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31 by 2.2 percent to 880,000. That change followed a downward revision in October.
After it had brought in the Fit Aria, a small sedan built in Thailand, in December, the automaker started offering the MDX sport-utility on Mar. 14. The MDX is built in Canada. The Element, which is made in the United States, will arrive after April. Analysts also expect Honda to redesign the Acura TL, known as the Saber/Inspire in Japan, this year.
But analysts question whether these upcoming models will be enough to reverse Honda's downward path. The MDX, priced at ¥4.85 million, or about $40,000, and the youth-oriented Element are not expected to be high-volume models.
"They'll have few new models to respond to the Japanese market," says Masahiro Yamaki, an analyst at Quick Business Research Institute in Tokyo. "They only have the Fit."
Yamaki and other analysts expect Honda to remain strong in the U.S. market with better-performing models than the Big 3's, even if the market gets softer. So Honda may have to continue depending on the U.S. market for the time being.
03-28-2003, 03:12 AM
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I have been making periodic trips to Japan since 93. Honda ain't got shit on Nissan and Toyota, especialy when it comes to our little inport scene. Its Nissan First then toyo, and then Honda. Here its the opposite
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