Honda Malaysia breached 44,000-unit mark for 2010 sales
Honda Malaysia went into 2010 aiming to sell 40,000 cars for the year. By July 2009, the company had already reached 69% of that figure, leading to a revision of its target to 44,000 units. That higher target was eventually met, with the company closing 2010 with a total of 44,486 cars sold.
That final tally represents a 15% year-on-year growth from the 38,783 cars sold in 2009. Honda is looking to ride on that momentum for the new year, having set a target of selling 48,000 cars for 2011, an 8% increase from 2010. Earlier this month, the company also announced the appointment of a new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Yoichiro Ueno, stepping in to take over from Mr Toru Takahashi.
Speaking to the media for the first time last week, Ueno commented on the company’s performance last year, saying that, “In Malaysia, the automobile market recovered and is expected to reach more than 600,000 units, the highest in Malaysia’s automotive history. In line with this and growing sales in the first half, we revised our sales target from 40,000 to 44,000. We are pleased to have achieved this revised target which recorded the highest sales unit in the company’s history.”
As before, Honda’s key seller of our market continues to be the City, which accounted for 19,946 units sold, 45% of the company’s total. The Civic and Accord remained strong, selling 8,880 (20%) and 7,322 (16.5%) units respectively. Meanwhile, CBU models such as the Jazz, Stream, Freed, Odyssey, Civic Hybrid and Civic Type R added to 2,795 units (6%). That final figure also includes five units of the now-discontinued Accord 3.5 V6, which Honda counted separately from the Accord 2.0 and 2.4.
The CR-V, boosted by the launch of a facelift in March, saw a sales growth of 60% from 3,474 units in 2009 to 5,543 units in 2010. Clearly, threats from the Nissan X-Trail, Hyundai Tucson, and Peugeot 3008 have failed to unsettle the soft-roader segment’s market leader. The company’s other big launch of 2010, the Freed, was a less stellar performer though, selling 851 units for the year.
Another feather in Honda’s cap came in the form of J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, which placed the company as number one out of 10 automotive brands surveyed in terms of after sales service.
Looking forward, the Honda Insight, launched in the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2010 will commence delivery in February, with 1,300 confirmed orders already in the company’s books. The company has also hinted at more hybrid model launches for the year, which points to the possibility of the CR-Z reaching our shores. Another one to watch for is the Accord, which due for its mid-life facelift. Speculation is also abound regarding the new Civic, but with the concept revealed only recently, we are not expecting to see it until 2012.
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