By Cong Mu
A model introduces the Jade concept car revealed by Guangqi Honda at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. Photo: CFP
In a bid to win back lost territories in the Chinese market, Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co announced plans on June 14 to introduce 12 new models to China by 2015.
With better technologies and more localized production, the new models belong to Honda's mid-term strategies for China. Announced last year, they included the launch of three hybrid passenger vehicle models, before the company revealed its Crider and Jade models at the Shanghai Auto Show in April.
"Starting from this year, Honda will accelerate the introduction of the most advanced technologies in environmental protection, safety, and comfort to China, while continuing with further localization of research and development (R&D), production and sourcing in the country," said Seiji Kuraishi, president of Honda Motor (China) Investment.
Honda's Chinese joint ventures, Wuhan-based Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co and Guangzhou-based Guangqi Honda Automobile Co, will roll out six new models respectively by the end of 2015, the company said.
Dongfeng Honda has scheduled the sale of Jade, a mid-range passenger car targeting the younger generation of consumers, to open to the Chinese market in September, and expects the vehicle to lead the JV market after its top-selling model in the country, Dongfeng Honda CR-V, said Chen Binbo, executive vice president of Dongfeng Honda.
Dongfeng Honda sold 69,399 units of CR-Vs in China during the first five months of the year, down 1 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from Honda Motor (China).
Overall, the Japanese automaker's JVs sold 255,540 units of passenger vehicles in China from January to May, dropping by 2.6 percent year-on-year.
"The Japanese carmakers' sales in China are mainly affected by the general political relations between China and Japan. If bilateral relations do not improve, sales won't grow any faster, no matter how many new models Honda plans to introduce to China," Zeng Zhiling, director of LMC Automotive Asia Pacific Forecasting in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The dispute over Diaoyu Islands in the South China Sea has sparked large-scale anti-Japanese protests across China since September of last year, hurting sales of Japanese products in China.
US competitors, such as Ford Motor Co, meanwhile, have taken advantage of the situation to boost sales in China, Zeng noted.
At the end of last year, Ford announced plans to introduce 15 new models to China by 2015, with the release of eight new models in 2013 alone, reported news portal sohu.com.
Earth Dreams platformDespite lackluster sales in China, the Japanese car company refuses to give up on its dreams.
Honda has also announced a new powertrain technology platform for China, and, not coincidentally, it named it the Earth Dreams Technology platform.
The new platform emphasizes both the pleasure of driving and environmental protection, offering five new direct-injection engines with capacities ranging from 1.5 liters to 3.5 liters, Honda said.
It also includes two new continuous variable transmission (CVT) systems that suit small and mid-sized cars as well as two sets of hybrid electric powertrains for small and medium vehicles respectively, it said.
Based on existing models, the combination of its new 1.5-liter engine and rapid-response CVT for small cars can boost fuel efficiency by 10 percent and accelerate performance by 15 percent, said Honda.
The company said the new engines and CVTs will be first applied to the new Accord (its 9th generation in China), which is slated for release into the market by Guangqi Honda in September.
Honda also said that it plans to localize the R&D and production of its electric hybrid models in China in the next three years, and expects to locally source key components, such as batteries and electric motors.
"I don't believe it (that Honda will truly localize its R&D in China). It may move laboratories to China, but Honda will still have the Japanese controlling them … It's possible for Honda to localize production, but it is unlikely to see any transfer of technological knowledge to Chinese partners," said Zeng.
Honda Motor (China)'s public relations department said that the company was not yet ready to reveal the details of its localization plans for China, when contacted by the Global Times on Tuesday.
Later this month, Guangqi Honda will debut a new model, Crider, most of which has been designed and developed in China and with the Chinese customer in mind, said Honda Motor (China)'s Deputy General Manager Takahiro Hachigo, who was previously behind the development of the CR-V in China.
Meanwhile, Jade, developed in Japan and based on the low slung and spacious global model Concept S, was designed mainly for the Chinese mass market, according to Hachigo.
Luxury appeal Apart from designing for the quickly-emerging Chinese middle-class, Honda has also been coveting the booming luxury vehicle sector in the world's largest car market, though, according to the US consulting firm McKinsey & Co, it is the Germans who control about 80 percent of the Chinese premium-auto market.
McKinsey said earlier this month that its recent study of both Chinese and German luxury car customers showed that "in China, advanced power trains are much more important for attracting high-end buyers than they are in Germany. Fuel efficiency also looms larger for affluent consumers hesitant to step up to premium cars."
"Price matters more in China, particularly for people interested in but less able to afford luxury cars, so there may well be a major market for lower-priced premium models," it noted.
Thus, Acura, the luxury car division of Honda, introduced two new premium models to the market at a Shenzhen car show on June 8.
The latest full-size sedan Acura RLX is a flagship model representing the design and technical trends of the future and has a price tag of 858,000 yuan ($139,938) per unit, said Chen Yue, vice director of Acura's China operation.
Meanwhile, Acura RDX-3.0L, directed at the aspiring affluent consumer, is a mid-range sports utility vehicle and is priced at 439,000 yuan per unit, said Chen.
Designed for China, and compared with its previous models, the RDX-3.0L has a smaller engine volume and a dropped price to increase its attractiveness, marking Acura's willingness to cater to Chinese consumers, it said.
Source
;http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/790580.shtml#.UcRTrtimUUM
