- In 2010, I set Honda’s “Direction for the next 10 years” which is "to provide good products to our customers with speed, affordability and low CO2 emissions." Since then, we have been devoting our full efforts in leveraging Honda’s unique technologies, ideas and ingenuity to create attractive products that please our customers who purchased such products. In addition, as a manufacturer of personal mobility products, we have been proactively executing various initiatives which contribute to a significant reduction of CO2 emissions.
- In 2011, we were forced to deal with the unprecedented appreciation of the yen and the
temporary suspension of production around the world and the shortage of electricity due to
the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the flooding in Thailand. However,
thanks to the cooperation of our suppliers, business partners, and the efforts of Honda
associates, we achieved a speedy recovery and as of today we are ready to make a
counterattack. - Since its foundation, Honda has been delivering various products with a passion to use
technology to make people’s lives more convenient and enjoyable. Our products have
been pleasing customers all around the world by making their work easier, increasing their
mobility and adding more fun and convenience to their lives. In the previous fiscal year
(ended March 31, 2012), Honda shared the joys with more than 23.9 million customers
around the world including: 15 million motorcycle customers, 5.8 million power products
customers and 3.1 million automobile customers. - In FY2017 (fiscal year ending March 31, 2017) — the last fiscal year of our next 3-year
mid-term plan – we will strive to further expand the joys by meeting more than 39 million new
customers around the world combining motorcycle, power products and automobile customers.
- In the area of automobile business, in order for Honda to quickly address the needs of
customers around the world, Honda will implement global operation reform, which will
enable Honda to realize the best vehicle specifications with competitive costs. Three key
initiatives which will be taken as a part of this global operation reform are: 1) concurrent
development by all six regions, 2) adoption of locally optimized design drawings and 3)
improvement of production efficiency. - This global operation reform has been implemented for the development of the all-new Fit
(Jazz) series which will be introduced starting in 2013. Within two years after the initial
market introduction of the all-new Fit in 2013, Honda will globally roll-out Fit (Jazz), City
and a new small SUV model, each with different individual characteristics. - As in the case of advanced nations, Honda will respond quickly to various market needs in
rapidly-growing emerging markets while adapting each model to the industrial
infrastructures of each country and region. Toward this end, Honda will pursue
“concurrent development by all six regions”, where each region participates in product
development concurrently and at the same level from the early stage of the development.
Introducing the same model in all regions within a short period of time enables Honda to
secure a certain level of production volume on a global basis from an early stage of the
product introduction, and the cost of parts sourcing can be significantly reduced by
producing a large volume of parts all at once in the most competitive region. - Meanwhile, in order to create products that directly respond to the voice of local
customers while utilizing the local sourcing and production infrastructure to the maximum
extent, Honda will adopt locally optimized design drawings. Honda is fully committed to
maximize the joy of customers in each region. - Honda will further improve production efficiency by dedicating new plants to the
production of small-sized vehicles, such as Yorii Plant （SAITAMA prefecture）, which
will become operational in July 2013, and a new plant in Mexico, which will become
operational in spring 2014. - Honda will fulfill the unique customer needs of each region while expanding economies
of scale in global sourcing and production. - In Japan, Honda will strive to sustain its growth through advancement of the production
system and capability and also through enhancement of the small vehicle lineup including
mini-vehicles. - In the area of production, starting in April of this year, development, procurement and
quality control teams came together at Suzuka Factory to establish a speedy and highly
efficient development and production system. While producing mostly mini-vehicles,
Suzuka Factory is making progress in establishing a self-sufficient production system. - The Yorii and Sayama Plants of Saitama Factory, will each have unique features and
strengthen their own area of specialty. - Yorii Plant, which will lead the global production operations of Honda, will be the world’s
top-class energy-saving factory which employs a number of innovative technologies.
Through the introduction of new production technologies, Yorii Plant will establish a
highly-efficient production structure, which will be dedicated to the centralized production
of small-sized vehicles such as the all-new Fit Series. - At Sayama Plant, a portion of two existing production lines will be consolidated to further
advance the plant’s multi-model production capability, so that the plant will establish a
highly-efficient production system which is capable of producing more than 10 different
models on the same line. - In the area of sales, the N BOX, whose overwhelmingly smart packaging has been well
received by customers, achieved the remarkable accomplishment of being the industry’s
top-selling car in the mini-vehicle category for five consecutive months in Japan. - Honda will further strengthen the product lineup through the introduction of six new
mini-vehicle models in Japan by the end of 2015, starting with the “N-ONE” model in
Novermber 2012, the third model in the N series. In the small car category, the all-new Fit
Series, which was mentioned earlier, will be introduced to the market. With overwhelming
product strength, Honda will dramatically increase its presence in mature markets. - In North America, in addition to the already popular Civic, CR-V and Odyssey, all-new
Accord went on sale this month. Honda believes that the all-new Accord with a
completely new engine and transmission which dramatically improved driving
performance, occupant comfort and quality feeling will be well accepted by a broad range
of customers. In addition to strengthening sales of these core models, Honda will begin
producing an all-new Fit and a derivative model at the new plant in Mexico that will
become operational in spring 2014. Honda will further solidify its North American
business through enhancement of the product lineup and competiveness. - In China, while strengthening local development capability, Honda will introduce products
that put more focus on Chinese customers. For the Honda brand, the introduction of more
than 10 new and full-model-change models is scheduled during the 3-year period from
2013 to 2015. In addition, Honda will continue introducing locally-developed original
models to strengthen the product lineup in China. Moreover, amid introduction of the
strictest fuel economy regulations in the world, Honda will further strengthen its
competitiveness by proactively introducing environmental technologies such as hybrid
technologies, where Honda has a competitive-edge. - In Asia, in order to compete in and win in highly-competitive low-price markets and fulfill
the diverse needs of customers, in addition to the all-new Fit Series, Honda will add
sedan-type and utility-type models utilizing the platform of the BRIO, Honda’s strategic
model for Asia. Honda will strive to increase the sales and further growth in Asia by
strengthening its mutually complementary structure in the region especially among
Thailand, Indonesia, India and Malaysia. - In India, an all-new diesel engine will be adopted sequentially to new models starting in
FY2014 (fiscal year ending March 31, 2014). In addition to the high fuel efficiency, the
cost competitiveness of the all-new diesel engine will be enhanced through local sourcing
and local production to make new diesel models more affordable for customers. - With these initiatives, Honda will increase its automobile sales in mature markets namely
Japan, the U.S. and Europe from approximately 2.06 million units in FY2012 (fiscal year
ended March 31, 2012) to more than 3 million units in FY2017 (fiscal year ending March
31, 2017). With proactive business expansion in emerging markets, in FY2017 (fiscal year
ending March 31, 2017), Honda will strive to achieve automobile sales of more than 3
million units in emerging markets, doubling the sales of FY2012 (fiscal year ended March
31, 2012). By solidifying sales in advanced counties and growing dramatically in
emerging nations, Honda will strive to achieve worldwide automobile sale of more than 6
million units in FY2017. - Honda will further advance its “Earth Dreams Technology,” a next generation series of
powertrain technologies which greatly enhance both driving performance and fuel
efficiency at a high level through the improvement of internal combustion components
including the engine, along with the transmission, and also through advancement of
electromotive technologies applied to motors and other components. - For gasoline-powered vehicles, which remain the most widely used in the world, Honda
will continue developing internal combustion engines which will increase fuel economy to
the ultimate level. Honda will adopt the newly-developed engine series first to the all-new
2013 Accord, and will continue to adopt it sequentially to other models. - As for hybrid vehicles, Honda will adopt three different systems with unique individual
characteristics depending on the model in order to fulfill the needs of more customers. - As for the lightweight and compact one-motor hybrid system, EV driving range will be
expanded through the improvement of motor output and battery performance as well as
the combination with a newly-developed transmission. Moreover, Honda will strive to
achieve No. 1 fuel economy among all hybrid vehicles by improving the efficiency of
regenerative energy recovery. - In the area of mid-size vehicles, following the market introduction of the all-new
Accord-based plug-in hybrid model in the U.S. in early 2013, a hybrid model equipped
with a two-motor hybrid system will be added to the lineup. After the U.S. introduction,
these models will be introduced in Japan and other regions. The plug-in hybrid model
which will go on sale in Japan will be equipped with a compact inverter capable of
external power supply, which was developed by applying Honda’s generator technologies. - Concerning the pursuit of driving performance, a highly-efficient and high-output
three-motor hybrid system, the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD® (Super Handling All Wheel Drive),
which realizes both a high level of sporty handling and fuel economy, will be applied to the
NSX, Acura RLX Sport Hybrid model and the successor model of Legend which will be
introduced in Japan in 2014. Honda will measure up to the expectations of customers
eagerly waiting these models by highlighting the presence of these hybrid vehicles with
unrivaled driving performance and fuel economy. - As for battery EVs, this summer in Japan and the U.S., Honda began lease sales of Fit EV,
which realizes the world’s best electric energy consumption performance. In line with
changes in the energy situation, Honda will continue its efforts to develop EV models with
which Honda will strive to realize further market penetration of EVs. - As for micromini-vehicles, which Honda considers to be one of the directions battery EVs
can take, Honda will further advance the concept of a “micro commuter,” which was
introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. While incorporating ideas and technologies
unique to Honda, the only automaker which has both motorcycle and automobile
technologies, Honda is making progress in the development of new personal mobility
products. Honda is planning to begin demonstration testing of such products in Japan in
2013. - As for fuel cell electric vehicles, which Honda considers to be the ultimate
environmentally-responsible vehicle, and therefore has been leading the industry in R&D
and sales, Honda will launch an all-new fuel cell electric model sequentially in Japan, the
U.S. and Europe starting in 2015. This new fuel cell vehicle will showcase further
technological advancement and significant cost reduction that Honda has accomplished. - Honda will proactively introduce dream-inspiring and edgy products as well as exciting
and fun products. - In addition to the NSX, the next-generation super sports model, Honda will launch a new
open-top sports car with strong vehicles dynamics which will go on sale in Japan 2014, as
one of the six new mini-vehicle models. - In Europe, in addition to the introduction of the NSX, Honda will develop an all-new
Civic Type-R to fulfill customer expectations. With the application of technologies which
will be cultivated through participation in WTCC (FIA World Touring Car Championship)
starting this year, the all-new Civic Type-R is being developed with the goal of becoming
the fastest front-wheel-drive vehicle on the Nurburgring race course. Honda aims to
introduce this model to the market in 2015. - In addition to a sports hybrid type of Acura’s luxury flagship sedan, the all-new Acura
RLX lineup will include a model equipped with Precision All Wheel Steer, a world’s first
technology which realizes excellent handling performance. The world premiere of the
all-new RLX, which features uniquely Acura exterior and interior designs as well as the
most advanced safety and environmental technologies, will be exhibited at the Los
Angeles Auto Show in November of this year. All Acura models are scheduled to be
renewed within the next three years. Acura will continue to strengthen its brand in North
America and China, and expand into other areas of the world.
- Honda’s telematics service, HondaLink, is designed to connect vehicles, people and
society to realize a safe and enjoyable mobility society with low CO2 emissions. Honda
will evolve HondaLink to more than 60 countries around the world before the end of
FY2014 (fiscal year ending March 31, 2014). Moreover, Honda will continue its proactive
commitment in various areas such as the expansion of robotics technologies including
ASIMO technologies, contributing to child development and promoting traffic safety.
Honda would like to continue growing while highlighting what makes Honda unique in
order to further expand the joys for our customers and society.
http://www.hondanews.com/channels/corporate-headlines/releases/-26
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