Excerpted from NY Times, “Honda Stays True to Efficient Driving”, by Bill Vlasic, August 26, 2008
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During the glory days of big pickups and sport utility vehicles, one automaker steadfastly refused to join the party.
Despite the huge profits that its competitors were minting by making larger vehicles, Honda Motor never veered from its mission of building fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly cars like its Accord sedan, even when the sentiment was “there’s no return on that.”
But in today’s fuel-conscious automotive market, Honda is reaping the rewards for its commitment.
No major automaker in America is doing better than Honda … While competitors are scrambling to shift their product lineups to build more small vehicles and slash their bloated inventories of trucks, Honda can barely keep up with demand, particularly in the subcompact category.
Sales of its tiny Fit have soared … and Honda accelerated the introduction of the 2009 model, which will go on sale Tuesday.
The Fit’s four-cylinder engine gets 34 miles per gallon in highway driving .
Honda’s focus on fuel efficiency is paying off on the bottom line as well … By comparison, G.M. and Ford have lost billions this year as the market has moved away from the big vehicles that once generated the bulk of their profits. Detroit is moving radically to downsize its vehicle lineups. Even Honda’s larger Japanese rival, Toyota, is hustling to adjust to the rapidly changing United States market.
Honda’s newest factory, in southern Indiana, is set to begin production of Civic compact cars this fall.
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Honda’s focus on fuel efficiency and the environmental impact of its vehicles dates back to the Clean Air legislation of the 1960s and 1970s. Honda adopted an internal motto — “Blue skies for our children” — as a guideline for future vehicle development.
Honda has posted the highest corporate average fuel economy of any automaker for its overall fleet of vehicles over the last 15 years.
Honda has never aspired to build a full line of trucks and S.U.V.’s. “Even when the large S.U.V.’s and trucks were big sellers, they did not fit with our philosophy.”
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When the new plant goes into production in Indiana, Honda’s North American production capacity will increase to 1.4 million vehicles a year to meet the growing demand for its small cars.
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Even with the success of its smallest cars, Honda executives concede that the company has some catching up to do with Toyota in hybrid vehicles.
While Honda offers a hybrid version of the Civic, Toyota’s Prius model is the runaway leader in the category.
But Honda recently announced plans to introduce a five-door, hybrid-only model in North America next year to compete with the Prius. Honda is expected to price the vehicle lower than the Prius to attract younger buyers.
Honda is also planning a two-door, sporty hybrid and a hybrid version of the Fit.
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At its headquarters here in Torrance, the vehicle that draws the most attention these days is the company’s hydrogen-powered, fuel-cell vehicle dubbed the FCX Clarity … it represents the next step for a company committed to clean technology.
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Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/business/26honda.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print
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