Honda aims to maintain market share
Japanese carmaker Honda Automobile Thailand is optimistic about the sport utility vehicle (SUV) market in 2018 after capturing a 61.2% market share last year.
Led by the mid-size Honda HR-V with 15,371 SUVs sold in 2017, the company sold 32,691 SUVs last year, up 11.9%, with the large CR-V selling 11,232 units and the small BR-V recording 6,087.
Honda’s SUV sales hit a record high in 2015 at 34,219 units sold before dropping to 29,210 units in 2016, affected by the new excise tax rate that year which increased all retail prices for large passenger cars and SUVs.
Chief operating officer Pitak Pruittisarikorn said the HR-V has had the highest sales volume in the SUV segment for three straight years, with cumulative sales of more than 62,000 units in Thailand, increasing recognition for the widely successful model around the world.
On a global level, more than 1.5 million HR-Vs were sold since being launched in Japan in December 2013 through December 2017.
“The Honda HR-V has also enjoyed an overwhelming response from Thai customers since being launched here in November 2014,” Mr Pitak said. “The HR-V alone captured 29% of the total SUV market last year.”
Mr Pitak said that since the Honda CR-V was first introduced in Thailand in 1996, it has set a new benchmark in the high-end SUV segment and accelerated the surge in demand for SUVs spanning all customer segments.
The Honda HR-V is marketed as meeting the growing demands of the compact SUV segment.
The company subsequently introduced the Honda BR-V in 2016 to support growing demand in the subcompact SUV segment.
Natt Patipanthada, general manager for marketing and strategic planning, said Honda expects to maintain its lead position in the SUV segment because it has three models covering all customer requirements.
Honda declined to disclose its SUV sales target for 2018.
For overall sales, Honda has a neutral outlook for 2018, forecasting 127,000 units. For the Thai market, the company projects 900,000 cars to be sold — growth of 3.4%.
Honda reported 127,768 units sold in 2017, up 19% year-on-year, led by the City, Civic, Jazz, HR-V and CR-V.
Last year, Honda remained in third place in the overall Thai automobile market with a 14.7% share, up 0.7 percentage points, trailing Toyota and Isuzu, while Honda had the largest slice of the passenger car segment, which includes SUVs, capturing 32.2%.