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23/12/2003 - Honda Business brief - December 2003
GLOBAL NEWS - Summary of 2003 Year-end Address by Mr. Fukui
On 17 December 2003, in his year-end address, Honda President, Mr Fukui said "the enhancement of those characteristics that are distinctive of Honda has been one of my main focuses since assuming the role of CEO. In other words, to further strengthen our Technology, Quality, and the Motivation of Honda associates."
Major achievements in the year include:
- First flight of the HondaJet, an executive jet built by us and powered by our own HF118 turbo fan engines. Significantly this took place on the centenary anniversary of the Wright Brothers first motorised flight;
- Development of Honda’s own sub-zero cold start fuel cell stack, capable of mass production;
- Development of Programmed Fuel Injection for 50cc motorcycles, cutting emissions by 50%;
- All Honda’s BF range of outboard marine engines now meet US CARB emission standards for 2008;
- Joint development of a Home Energy Station(HES), that generates hydrogen from natural gas for use in fuel cell vehicles while supplying hot water and electricity to the home;
- Introduction of the world’s first Collision Mitigation System(CMS) and E-Pretensioner;
- Introduction of a crash compatibility enhanced structure that minimises damage from a collision between vehicles of different sizes. Introduced in the Life minicar(Japanese market only), the technology will now be extended to all models globally with new platform introductions;
- A new crash safety facility was constructed at our R&D facility in Ohio, in addition to the existing one in Japan.
Honda in 2003 has been a leader in the area of environmental and safety technologies.
2003/2004 Sales Forecast/Plan
Honda has released its sales forecast for 2003 calendar year and its sales plan for 2004, with car sales to rise by 10% to 3.2 million, motorcycle sales to rise by 14% to 10.4 million and power products to rise by 8% to 5.4 million.
| Honda Global Sales | 2003 | 2004 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forecast | Plan | |||
| Automobiles | 2,910,000 | +3% | 3,200,000 | +10% |
| Automobiles | 2,910,000 | +3% | 3,200,000 | +10% |
| Motorcycle & ATVs | 9,090,000 | +12% | 10,400,000 | +14% |
| Power Products | 4,980,000 | +11% | 5,400,000 | +8% |
| Total Honda Products | 16,980,000 | +10% | 19,000,000 | +12% |
EUROPEAN NEWS
2003/2004 European Automobile Sales Plan
Honda expects to sell approximately 215,000 units in 2003, an increase of 9.8% over 2002. In 2004, the company plans to sell 200,000 units, an increase of 2.3% on the current year.
Honda’s European car sales continue to improve
In November, Honda’s European car sales rose by 2.1% to 14,082* and for the period Jan-Nov 2003, by 10.6%, to 205,217*, despite an overall market decline of 1.3%. The improvement was lead by the new Accord up 82.2%, to 32,365*, the Jazz up 25%, to 51,026* and the CR-V up 10.1%, to 35,396*. For a detailed breakdown, see table at end of Business Brief.
*Honda estimates
TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT
Flight Tests of Honda Experimental Business Jet take off
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that the HondaJet, its new experimental compact business jet equipped with a Honda-developed HF118 jet engines, successfully completed the initial flight test this month at Piedmont Triad Airport in North Carolina, US. Compared with conventional jets, this experimental aircraft offers superior fuel efficiency and remarkable cabin space. The engines are optimally positioned on the upper surface of the main wing in a unique configuration that reduces drag at high speed and increases cruising efficiency. In addition, this layout also eliminates the need for structural engine mounts in the fuselage, creating over 30% more cabin space than in a conventional aircraft. At present Honda has business plan for this new development.
Honda announces development of HF118 Aircraft Engine
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced the development of its compact, lightweight, fuel-efficient, low-emissions HF118 Turbofan Engine for the HondaJet-Honda’s experimental business jet.
Honda has used its proprietary computational fluid dynamics software to optimise airflow within the compact engine, maximising performance. The engine’s simple, high-performance combustion chamber keeps emission levels low enough to meet the requirements of anticipated standards for compact jets.
Development of this engine began in 1999, and it has been submitted to comprehensive testing, including required tests such as the 150-hour endurance test. The engine has now logged more than 110 hours of flight-testing on other manufacturers’ aircraft, confirming its reliability.
All 2004 Honda and Acura Light Trucks comply with New Crash Compatibility
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has announced that it has joined in an industry-wide program to improve vehicle-to-vehicle crash compatibility by designing all future Honda and Acura vehicles to meet or exceed new criteria set out by the industry’s Enhanced Vehicle-to-Vehicle Compatibility Working Group.
For Frontal-to-Frontal crash compatibility, Honda has already undertaken the task of improving the compatibility of its own fleet through years of research, development and application of advanced safety designs. Accordingly, all 2004 model Honda and Acura light trucks sold in North America already comply with the Phase 1 industry Frontal-to-Frontal compatibility guidelines.
OTHER REGIONS
Honda strengthens function of Regional Operation Centre in China
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced that it will establish a new wholly owned subsidiary in China - Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd. - with the objective of strengthening the function of its regional operation centre there. The new company will be responsible for developing Honda’s overall business strategy in China and representing Honda group companies in various areas including corporate communications, and intellectual property management. The company is expected to begin operations in February 2004.
| MODEL | Nov 03 | Nov 02 | 03/02 % | Jan-Nov 03 | Jan-Nov 02 | 03/02 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jazz | 3,886 | 3,395 | 13.9 | 51,026 | 40,830 | 25.0 |
| Civic - All Models | 4,524 | 5,035 | -11.1 | 73,766 | 74,833 | -1.5 |
| Stream | 98 | 234 | -58.1 | 2,558 | 5,650 | -54.6 |
| Accord - All Models | 2,547 | 1,194 | 113.3 | 32,365 | 17,763 | 82.2 |
| Legend | 6 | 5 | 20.0 | 99 | 190 | -47.9 |
| CR-V | 2,513 | 3,051 | -17.6 | 35,396 | 32,154 | 10.1 |
| HR-V | 447 | 694 | -35.6 | 7,783 | 10,721 | -27.4 |
| S2000 | 57 | 117 | -51.3 | 2,035 | 2,477 | -17.8 |
| Insight | 0 | 1 | - | 4 | 51 | -92.2 |
| Total ALL Europe* | 14,082 | 13,790 | 9.8 | 205,217 | 185,743 | 10.5 |
| EU Produced | 6,702 | 8,906 | -6.1 | 104,556 | 115,622 | -9.6 |
| Civic IMA | 139 | 779 |
*Honda tentative estimates