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Tag: honda

  • Japan’s Honda to recall 350,000 cars in China over engine issue

    Japan’s Honda to recall 350,000 cars in China over engine issue

    Honda Motor Co Ltd will recall roughly 350,000 vehicles in China to resolve a cold-climate engine issue and quell a barrage of customer complaints that has hit the automaker over the past month.

    The recall involves the CR-V sport utility vehicle and the Civic car equipped with a 1.5-litre turbo engine, Honda’s joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd (0489.HK) said in a statement on Monday.

    The company is calling back those cars to resolve a problem caused by an unusual amount of un-combusted petrol collecting in the engine’s lubricant oil pan.

    The issue in some cases caused a strong odor of gasoline inside the car and in other cases the car’s check-engine light came on. Honda and Dongfeng plan to resolve the issue by updating the engine’s gasoline injection control software.

    Honda officials said there had been no reports of accidents. They said the engine oil issue doesn’t affect the engine or the car’s performance.

    The measure comes after CR-V and Civic owners turned to the Weibo microblog – China’s Twitter equivalent – and other means to air their complaints since mid January.

    The recall points to an emerging pattern in China where customer complaints spiral out of control as they are aired out on Weibo, forcing an automaker to respond.

    Years ago the kind of recall Honda announced on Monday could have been dealt through a so-called customer service action, industry officials and experts say. That refers to what the auto industry calls a “quiet recall”, which is less damaging financially and image-wise, where an automaker fixes a non-safety issue, often free of charge, whenever the customer comes to the dealership.

    “Without Weibo, it would have gone on for years,” said James Chao, chief automotive analyst for IHS Markit in the Asia-Pacific region. “That’s the way it was for the industry in the pre-Weibo, pre-Twitter era.”

    Honda did not say the scale of the move in its statement, but a Beijing-based spokesman and other company officials said Honda and its joint venture partner are likely to call back roughly 350,000 vehicles. “We’re still trying to determine the precise number of cars affected,” the spokesman said.

    Normally un-combusted petrol ends up accumulated in the lubricant oil pan but evaporates under heat from the engine. Such evaporated petrol is by design put back into the engine combustion chamber as fuel.

    The issue involving the CR-V and the Civic has occurred in northern China where temperatures can dip well below the freezing point and when drivers of the affected vehicles drive short distances frequently.

    On short runs, Honda engineers believe the engine doesn’t warm up enough to help un-combusted petrol accumulated in the lubricant oil pan to evaporate.

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  • Honda aims to double market share in India

    Honda aims to double market share in India

    Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Co plans to double its market share in India within the next few years, the head of its local unit said, as it looks to boost its presence in the world’s fifth-largest car market.

    To be a major player and have a meaningful presence, Honda needs to achieve a 10 percent market share, Yoichiro Ueno, managing director of the carmaker’s India unit, said during the country’s biennial auto show.

    Honda, which sells cars such as the City sedan and CR-V sport-utility vehicle in India, has seen its market share fall to about 5 percent at the end of 2017 from 7 percent three years ago, industry data show, thanks to a slew of new launches from rivals Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor.

    Annual passenger vehicle sales in India crossed 3 million units last year and the country is expected to become the world’s third-largest car market by 2020, trailing only China and the United States.

    One of the challenges for Honda is that lower taxes on small cars in India make them a preferred choice for buyers, and the carmaker has few small cars to offer.

    “Our global line up is different so it is a bit difficult to utilise global resources,” Ueno said, adding car taxation policy in India needed to change to encourage carmakers to bring in products from their global portfolio.

    The Japanese carmaker is utilising only 70 percent of its annual production capacity of 300,000 units in India and needs to ramp up output to be efficient, Ueno said.

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  • Honda, Forever 21 to Collaborate on Vintage Collection

    Honda, Forever 21 to Collaborate on Vintage Collection

    Forever 21 has launched a collection featuring classic Honda racing motifs.

    The brainchild of Honda’s brand management agency Earthbound, the F21xHonda racing capsule collection consists of iconic Honda designs from the early 1980s and action sportswear of the 1990s.

    “Pairing nostalgic Honda racing iconography with updated silhouettes and fabrics to create a modern yet timeless aesthetic, the latest collection includes a variety of men’s and women’s apparel,”said the two companies in a statement.

    The women’s collection offers vintage inspired styles from long and short sleeved crop-tops, long sleeve t-shirts and skirts, including items in the Plus size range. The men’s collection features street-wear ready pieces including t-shirts, pull-over sweaters and racing jackets.

    “We are always looking for new and unexpected partnerships,” said Linda Chang, VP of marketing for Forever 21. “This collaboration with Honda racing is especially relevant now with the popularity of racing and motorsport designs. We hope that fans of both Honda racing and our customers will celebrate with us through this collection.”

    Honda Powersports Marketing’s senior manager Mike Snyder said collaborating with a brand like Forever 21 allows Honda motorcycles to access a completely new audience.

    “We are very happy with the collection they have developed. It does a great job of blending Honda’s Racing history with Forever 21’s fashion sense.”

    The F21 x Honda racing collection launched in stores throughout North America and on Forever21.com this week.

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  • Honda Malaysia retains number one spot for non-national brands

    Honda Malaysia retains number one spot for non-national brands

    Honda Malaysia retained its number one spot for non-national brands for the third consecutive year, managing to sell 19% more cars or 109,511 units in 2017, the highest in its history.

    Honda Malaysia also sold the second largest number of cars in total industry volume in 2017, for the second consecutive year, it said in a statement today.

    Since 2003 and in the span of 14 years, Honda Malaysia has sold more than 730,000 units of vehicles.

    The company managed to capture a 19% market share, the highest ever achieved in Honda Malaysia history, with six new model launches, namely BR-V, City, Jazz and Jazz Hybrid, City Hybrid, CR-V and All-New Civic Type R.

    The City emerged as Honda’s best-selling model in 2017, contributing 27% of total sales, followed by HR-V at 17%, BR-V at 16% and Civic at 14% respectively.

    In the Hybrid segment, the Jazz Hybrid and City Hybrid contributed 2% to the total sales of Honda Malaysia despite being on sale for only 4 months. The two models are leading the overall Hybrid segment.

    Throughout 2017, Honda Malaysia expanded its presence and penetration in Sabah and Sarawak, which contributed more than 7,500 units to the total sales achieved. Sales for East Malaysia in 2017 increased by 33% compared to 2016. BR-V was the best-selling model in Sabah and Sarawak.

    Not losing sight of its after sales service segment, Honda Malaysia introduced Honda Pride with 12 specially designed benefits such as five years warranty with unlimited mileage, genuine parts and comfortable dealer showroom.

    In terms of service intake, Honda Malaysia recorded more than 1.15 million vehicles serviced in 2017, up 13% from the 1.0 million vehicles serviced in 2016.

    Managing director and CEO Toichi Ishiyama said, “Reflectively, we are pleased to note that with the maturing Malaysian market, customers responded well to the various Next Generation Advanced Technologies we introduced such as Honda SENSING, Turbo and Sport Hybrid i-DCD. The Sport Hybrid i-DCD made history during their introductions, as Malaysia is the only country outside of Japan to introduce the technology. It was also the most affordable Hybrid to be introduced in the market. Honda was also the first brand to introduce the SENSING technology into mass models such as the CR-V and New Accord.”

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  • Honda considers developing all solid-state EV batteries

    Honda considers developing all solid-state EV batteries

    Honda Motor is considering developing all solid-state batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) as a growing number of global automakers look to come up with powerful, next-generation car batteries to reduce vehicle emissions.

    Tighter global emissions regulations are forcing automakers worldwide to shift to electric cars, including all-battery EVs that will require capacity to deliver longer ranges and faster charge times, but at lower cost than lithium-ion batteries.

    “We’ve been researching all solid-state batteries,” Honda spokesman Teruhiko Tatebe said.

    “At the moment we’re not developing them with another automaker.”

    Kyodo News reported on Thursday that Honda and Nissan Motor Co were developing all solid-state EV batteries. Nissan was not immediately available for comment.

    A growing number of automakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen  are developing all solid-state batteries, which offer more capacity and better safety than conventional lithium-ion batteries by replacing their liquid electrolyte with a solid, conductive material.

    Earlier this month, Toyota said it was considering jointly developing the next-generation batteries with Panasonic to share high R&D costs.

    The automaker is planning to have a production-ready battery in the early 2020s, and has highlighted the need to accelerate the pace of battery development as it and other automakers plan to ramp up the number of electric models they sell in the coming decades.

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  • South Korea’s Hyundai says faces headwinds from weaker yen next year

    South Korea’s Hyundai says faces headwinds from weaker yen next year

    South Korean automakers face a major headwind from a weakening Japanese yen, which will boost rivals like Toyota Motor Corp. next year, a Hyundai Motor think tank said.

    The fall in the yen will intensify competition in major markets, such as China and the United States, where overall demand is expected to shrink in 2018, the think tank said.

    It projected that the Korean won would fetch 978 per 100 yen next year, compared with 1,018 this year.

    The re-election in November of Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who favors massive monetary and fiscal stimulus policies, should point to further yen weakness, the think tank said.

    Toyota Motor in November raised its forecast for full-year operating profit, in part due to expectations of a weaker yen, which can make goods exported from Japan cheaper and can boost the value of overseas profits when they are repatriated.

    “The currency environment is expected to deteriorate next year,” Lee Bo-sung, a director of the think tank, the Global Business Intelligence Center, said at a press briefing on Friday. The contents of the briefing were embargoed until 9 am Sunday Seoul time.

    “The weaker yen is expected to be the biggest challenge for South Korean automakers next year, as they are competing against Japanese,” Lee said.

    He said the price gap between Korean and Japanese cars had already narrowed due to the yen’s decline. For example, Hyundai’s Sonata sedan was 10 percent cheaper than Honda’s Accord in the United States in 2011 and the gap is only 2 percent this year, he said.

    A weaker yen and higher profit have also allowed Japanese carmakers to boost investment and gain market share in China and other emerging markets, Hyundai’s stronghold, he said.

    Hyundai Motor has seen its net profit tumble by nearly one-third so far this year, and is on track to miss its annual vehicle sales target by a large margin, having failed to position for a consumer swing to sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and a diplomatic row with Beijing that hit Korean-made products.

    Hyundai Motor said on Friday it plans to roll out three SUVs next year in the United States – the redesigned Santa Fe, the Kona, and the tweaked Tucson, to revive its sales momentum. In China next year, Hyundai and Kia plan to release three China-targeted small SUVs next year.

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  • Honda recalling 900,000 minivans because seats may tip forward

    Honda recalling 900,000 minivans because seats may tip forward

    Honda Motor Co said on Saturday that it was recalling about 900,000 minivans because second-row seats may tip forward if not properly latched after being adjusted.

    The Japanese automaker said the recall covered 2011-2017 Honda Odyssey minivans, all but 2,000 of which are in North America, and that it had 46 reports of minor injuries related to the issue. Honda said it was working on a recall fix to help ensure proper latching and, in the interim, had posted a detailed instruction sheet on how to ensure seats are properly latched.

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  • Telco giant Viettel named biggest tax payer in Vietnam

    Telco giant Viettel named biggest tax payer in Vietnam

    A list of the 1,000 businesses that paid the most tax last year in Vietnam has been released, and includes three foreign firms in the top 10.

    Military-run telco giant Viettel topped the list after earning a pre-tax profit of nearly VND40 trillion ($1.76 billion), followed by Japanese motorbike and automobile producer Honda and state-owned energy group PetroVietnam, according to a report by the General Department of Taxation.

    Viettel is Vietnam’s largest telecom firm in terms of earnings, and operates mobile networks across 10 countries in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa with further plans for expansion. UK-based Brand Finance ranks its brand value seventh in Southeast Asia and 93rd globally.

    Japanese automobile maker Toyota and Dutch brewery Heineken were also named among the top 10 biggest tax payers in Vietnam last year.

    The rest of the top 10 was made up of state-owned enterprises: telecom firm MobiFone, major lenders Vietcombank and VietinBank, dairy giant Vinamilk and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam.

    Details of how much tax each company paid were not released, but the report said that the 1,000 biggest payers contributed more than VND90 trillion (nearly $4 billion) to the state budget in 2016, up 12 percent from the previous year.

    The top 10 accounted for nearly 75 percent of that figure, it said.

    Vietnam imposes a corporate tax rate of 20 percent.

  • Honda to cut Japanese production by a quarter as domestic sales stagnate

    Honda to cut Japanese production by a quarter as domestic sales stagnate

    Honda Motor plans to end production at its Sayama plant in Japan by 2022, cutting domestic capacity by around 24 percent as it shifts focus to electric cars (EVs) and other new technologies.

    The automaker has seen stagnant domestic sales and said on Wednesday it was streamlining its Japanese operations as it takes a more nimble approach to development and manufacturing in the face of fierce competition from carmakers and technology companies to make EVs and self-driving cars.

    “As we focus more on adopting electrification and other new technologies, we want to hone our vehicle manufacturing expertise in Japan and expand it globally,” CEO Takahiro Hachigo told a press conference.

    Hachigo has been trying to revive a culture of innovation at Japan’s No. 3 automaker, after a number of major product recalls in recent years as well as lackluster product offerings, partly because it focused so much on increasing volumes and profit.

    Honda said it would end production at the ageing Sayama plant in Saitama Prefecture north of Tokyo, consolidating output at its Yorii plant in the same prefecture by the end of the 2022 financial year. Most workers currently at Sayama would be transferred to the Yorii facility, it said.

    The move would cut overall domestic annual production capacity to around 810,000 units, the same as Honda’s current output levels, which are around 76 percent of its current production capacity of 1.06 million vehicles.

    “Domestic sales haven’t increased as much as we were expecting and it has become difficult to boost exports,” Hachigo said.

    Following consolidation, Honda said the Yorii plant will produce EVs and serve as a major center for developing manufacturing technology for electric cars. It will also produce other vehicles including larger-sized global models.

    While the automaker cuts capacity at home, it plans to open a new plant by 2019 in China, where it has seen explosive growth. Overall, global annual production would remain largely unchanged at around 5.06 million units, it said.

    Honda has struggled to expand sales at home in the past few years, facing stiff competition from popular offerings including Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) Prius gasoline hybrid and Nissan Motor Co.’s (7201.T), Note compact hatchback.

    In the year ended March, it sold 668,000 units domestically, almost the same as in the previous year.

    With an annual production capacity of 250,000 units, the Sayama plant opened in 1964 and is one of Honda’s oldest plants, producing the Accord sedan, the CR-V SUV crossover and other models.

    The Yorii plant began production in 2013 and also has an annual production capacity of 250,000 units. Its output includes the Fit compact hatchback and the Civic sedan.

    Hachigo also said he was confident Honda was following proper procedures for final vehicle inspection for the Japanese market.

    He said the company was complying with a request from Japan’s transport ministry for inspection records after Nissan said on Monday it would recall 1.2 million vehicles due to procedural irregularities with its final inspection processes.

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  • Honda motorcycle sales boost quarterly net profit

    Honda motorcycle sales boost quarterly net profit

    Motorcycle sales volume grew in India and Vietnam. Japanese vehicle maker Honda on Tuesday said net profit for the second quarter rose by double digits boosted by strong motorcycle sales, revising up its full-year forecast.

    The Tokyo-based company said “solid sales of two-wheel vehicles in Asia and cost reduction efforts” contributed to increased profits.

    Motorcycle sales volume grew in India and Vietnam, Honda said, while four-wheel vehicle sales volume increased in Japan and China but declined in North America.

    Japan’s number-three automaker booked net profit of 207.3 billion yen ($1.88 billion) in the April-June period, up 18.7 percent from the previous year.

    Sales grew 7.0 percent to 3.71 trillion yen, while operating profit rose 0.9 percent to 269.2 billion yen.

    Honda boosted its net profit forecast to 545 billion yen from an earlier figure of 530 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2018.

    It also lifted its fiscal year operating profit and revenue outlooks.

    “Honda’s profit pales compared to figures last year when it booked a one-time gain in a pension accounting change,” Satoru Takada, an analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and consulting institute, said ahead of the earnings release.

    “But it displayed a good performance in China and Indonesia while showing steady sales in North America,” he said.

    While North American vehicle sales declined in the quarter year on year to 481,000 from 510,000, revenue rose slightly to 2.13 trillion yen from 2.06 trillion yen.

    Takada added that the foreign exchange situation is “a key factor” for automakers.

    “Current levels are relatively positive for the Japanese auto industry,” he said.

    Although the yen has strengthened slightly in past days, it remains weak against the dollar over recent years.

    A stronger Japanese yen can hurt carmakers by eroding the value of overseas profits when repatriated.

    On Thursday, Nissan reported a drop in quarterly net profit, hit by higher costs and weak sales in key markets, although it left its annual forecasts unchanged.

    Toyota will release earnings on Friday.

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  • Honda recalls 2.1 million vehicles worldwide over fire risk

    Honda recalls 2.1 million vehicles worldwide over fire risk

    Honda Motor said on Friday it would recall about 2.1 million vehicles worldwide to replace battery sensors due to the risk of fire.

    Chris Martin, a spokesman for the Japanese automaker said the recall would include 1.15 million Honda Accord vehicles from the 2013-2016 model years in the United States, and nearly 1 million elsewhere, to replace a 12-volt battery sensor.

    The company said it had received four reports of engine compartment fires in the United States and at least one in Canada, in areas that use significant amounts of road salt during the winter. There have been no reported injuries.

    The automaker has received 3,972 U.S. warranty claims relating to the issue.

    The battery sensors may not be sufficiently sealed against moisture intrusion, Honda said. Over time, moisture may introduce road salt or other material into the battery sensor, leading to rust and eventual electrical shorting of the sensor.

    Due to the large size of the recall, Honda said dealers would initially adopt a temporary fix by applying an adhesive to prevent moisture intrusion, and then later replace the sensor.

    The company first received a claim of an engine compartment fire from Canada in 2015 and began investigating the issue. In early 2016, it received a claim of a similar fire in China.

    Honda introduced a redesigned battery sensor in June 2016. After an investigation of the China incident, the automaker said it initially believed the “future occurrence rate was estimated to be low,” but continued to probe the matter after receiving additional reports of fires.

  • Honda outlines bold autonomous goals

    Honda outlines bold autonomous goals

    Honda Motor, long soft-spoken about its strategies for electric cars and autonomous driving in a world of raucous rivals, is suddenly talking louder.

    Executives last week outlined bold goals to deliver lane-changing autonomous driving for highways by 2020 and then extend the effort to city streets with Level 4 self-driving vehicles by 2025.

    At the same time, executives revealed that Honda has been quietly working on a range of electric vehicles under a new EV development division created in virtual secrecy in October.

    That unit will deliver not only a dedicated EV for China next year, it is working on another EV that will be introduced at an auto show this fall — possibly targeting North America.

    The revelations represent a leap forward for Japan’s No. 3 automaker as it races to catch up with competitors on the industry’s future technologies.

    The sense of urgency was palpable among executives last week as they showcased their plans here.

    “We have been lagging behind a little,” Honda R&D President Yoshiyuki Matsumoto said of the push, “so we are now trying to catch up. We are tightening the screws quickly.”

    CEO Takahiro Hachigo unveiled the strategy as part of a new 2030 midterm business vision, saying engineers needed more concrete targets and a clear timeline to keep them on track.

    At the same time, Honda has created two other divisions tasked with enhancing the perceived quality of its products and making them cheaper to develop and build. Honda wants to ensure that in a future in which self-driving EVs risk becoming like appliances, Honda cars will remain fun to drive.

    Urgency

    The sudden arrival of the plans reflects mounting pressure on Honda — a midsize global company, despite its appearance in the U.S. — to cope with industry consolidation, surging demand for costly new technologies and an onslaught of new competitors from Silicon Valley and China.

    “It does seem like a lot of stuff just appeared out of thin air,” said Christopher Richter, senior auto analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Tokyo. “Now that the engineering juggernaut has been pointed in this direction, things will start moving.”

    Honda has fallen behind traditional rivals such as Nissan Motor, Ford Motor and Volkswagen AG in chasing aggressive road maps for electric and self-driving vehicles. Moreover, upstarts such as Tesla, Waymo or even China’s LeEco, are opening new fronts of competition.

    In its Japanese home market, the fiercely independent Honda suddenly finds itself as odd man out in a new era of partnerships. The domestic industry has coalesced into two camps, with Mazda Motor, Subaru and Suzuki Motor Corp. joining into loose alliance with Toyota Motor, and Mitsubishi Motors teaming with Nissan Motor.

    Honda plans to spend big to make it all happen. The company will boost r&d spending 9.4 percent this year, to about $6.84 billion. But to demonstrate its competitive disadvantage in size, that commitment represents 5.3 percent of its forecasted revenue — larger rival Toyota will devote $9.57 billion to r&d this year, and that represents only 3.8 percent of its forecasted revenue.

    The situation is not lost on Honda. Leveraging partners is now a top priority under Hachigo’s business plan.

    Over the past year, Honda has deepened cooperation with General Motors in fuel cell vehicles, with Waymo in autonomous driving and with Hitachi in EV powertrains, among others.

    Expect more collaborations going ahead, Hachigo said.

    “We must secure higher competitiveness in automobile business for the future, especially in the areas of electrification and the realization of a collision-free society,” he said last week. “How we are going to achieve it remains the challenge.”

    Staying Honda

    Honda is wary of its vehicles falling into the commoditization that some forecast, in which automated EVs become bland by pulling together common parts and standardized electronics.

    Making Honda stand out from the crowd will be the stickler, Hachigo said.

    Honda set up a Product and Perceived Quality Planning Division in October to target the soft side of brand power, the subtle and hard-to-define nuances that connect people with their vehicles.

    Driving dynamics will be a top focus for the new plan, and Honda has created a prototype vehicle called the Dynamic Study to embody some of its future ideas.

    The concept vehicle is based on the current Civic sedan, with tweaks to the transmission, steering and chassis. Among them is a sporty downshift feature that revs like a stick shift when the car brakes into a curve, even though the transmission is automatic.

    Honda also aims to make its cars look better. Hachigo said the company will debut a new design language in the fall, though the company declined to offer any sneak peeks.

    Underpinning all these planned improvements will be doubled-down efforts to cut costs so vehicles brimming with ever-better technology won’t be priced out of the market.

    “Solidifying our foundations to facilitate electrification and future technologies such as automated driving is the key to our future,” the CEO said. “That’s where we need to make solid changes this time.”

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  • Piaggio Indonesia poised strongly against Honda’s challenge

    Piaggio Indonesia poised strongly against Honda’s challenge

    PT Piaggio Indonesia, the principal and sole agent of Vespa and Piaggio in Indonesia, is not concerned by PT Astra Honda Motor’s introduction in April of the Honda SH150i as a new premium scooter competitor.

    Sales of the Vespa Medley, whose specifications are comparable with the Japanese counterpart, has not declined, even though they are in the same price bracket, said Piaggio Indonesia marketing director Andre Sanyoto.

    The Medley is marketed at around Rp 44 million (US$3,320), while the Honda SH150i is priced at Rp 44.9 million. “If they Honda can sell five to 10 units a month, we are seeing at least double-digit sales and have seen positive growth since the Medley’s launch in May 2016,” he said.

    Andre believes that Piaggio will not be affected by declining sales in the industry, as it relies on the premium scooter segment. It will introduce at least two more premium scooters this year, including the Vespa 946 (RED).

    ”We are sticking to the premium segment, with an audience who considers not only the functionality of our product, but also their emotional attachment to it,” he said. “The 946 (RED) model will be marketed at a similar price as the Vespa Armani, at Rp 196 million,” he said, adding that his company had already received orders for the new model from Vespa enthusiasts.

    Piaggio Indonesia’s sales is mainly supported by the Primavera and Sprint model, which are marketed at Rp 32.8 million and Rp 34.8 million respectively, and contributed 70 percent of total Vespa sales in Indonesia.

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  • Honda to focus on self-driving cars, robotics, EVs through 2030

    Honda to focus on self-driving cars, robotics, EVs through 2030

    Japanese carmaker Honda Motor on Thursday spelled out for the first time its plans to develop autonomous cars which can drive on city streets by 2025, building on its strategy to take on rivals in the auto market of the future.

    Unveiling its mid-term Vision 2030 strategy plan, Honda said it would boost coordination between R&D, procurement and manufacturing to tame development costs as it acknowledged it must look beyond conventional vehicles to survive in an industry which is moving rapidly into electric and self-driving cars.

    Honda has already spelled out plans to market a vehicle which can drive itself on highways by 2020, and the new target for city-capable self-driving cars puts its progress slightly behind rivals like BMW.

    “We’re going to place utmost priority on electrification and advanced safety technologies going forward,” Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo said.

    Developing new driving technologies, robotics- and artificial intelligence-driven services and new energy solutions also would be key priorities for Honda in the years ahead, the company said.

    LEVELING UP

    Honda established a division late last year to develop electric vehicles (EVs) as part of its long-held goal for lower-emission gasoline hybrids, plug-in hybrids, EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) to account for two-thirds of its line-up by 2030, from about 5 percent now.

    By 2025, Honda plans to come up with cars with “level 4” standard automated driving functions, meaning they can drive themselves on highways and city roads under most situations.

    Achieving such capabilities will require artificial intelligence to detect traffic movements, along with a battery of cameras and sensors to help avoid accidents.

    BMW has said it would launch a fully autonomous car by 2021, while Ford Motor has said it will introduce a vehicle with similar capabilities for ride-sharing purposes in the same year. Nissan Motor is planning to launch a car which can drive automatically on city streets by 2020.

    Honda has been ramping up R&D spending, earmarking a record 750 billion yen ($6.84 billion) for the year to March.

  • Honda spreads its wings into Southeast Asia’s private jet market

    Honda spreads its wings into Southeast Asia’s private jet market

    With the fastest growing ‘super rich’ group in the world, Vietnam is going to be a prime target for the HondaJet. Honda Motor has announced plans to start selling its HondaJet private aircraft in several Southeast Asian markets to capitalize on the region’s economic growth.

    The Japanese automaker said on Monday that it has chosen Thai Aerospace Services (TAS) as its first-ever HondaJet dealer in Southeast Asia.

    “We see great potential for the HondaJet in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest growing regions,” Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa Fujino said in a company report.

    TAS will provide sales, service and support for HondaJet customers in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore, said the report.

    The seven-passenger HondaJet aircraft first hit the market in December 2015, and orders have topped 100, according to Nikkei.

    The design places the engines above the wings, granting the plane more interior space. Other selling points include speed and fuel efficiency.

    Honda has dealerships in North America, Latin America and Europe, and the company had delivered 41 jets as of mid-April.

    Vietnam’s ultra-rich population is growing faster than any economy in the world, and is on track to continue leading the growth in the next decade.

    The Wealth Report by the U.K.’s independent real estate consultancy Knight Frank found there are 200 ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI) in Vietnam, who are defined as people with investable assets of at least $30 million, excluding personal assets and property such as a primary residence, collectibles and consumer durables.

    In Vietnam, this super rich group grew by 320 percent between 2000 and 2016, the fastest in the world compared to India’s 290 percent and China’s 281 percent, the report said.

    The number is expected to continue rising to 540, or by 170 percent, by 2026, the highest growth rate in the world. Millionaires in Vietnam are expected to jump to 38,600 from 14,300 over the same period.