Can Honda return to its former glory?
In 2006, Honda held the fourthlargest slice of the new-vehicle market pie in New Zealand. By 2010 the iconic Japanese marque would fade to 10th. In the years since, Honda has consistently settled for a spot at the tail end of the top 10. Indeed, it ended last year 11th outright.
But, Honda New Zealand appears to have a plan to try and fight its new rivals.
Speaking at the recent launch of the all-new ZR-V, Honda New Zealand chief operating officer Peter Ashley said that the ZR-V is one of three new SUVs set to anchor Honda’s push for increased sales, with a new CR-V to arrive before the end of the year, and the HR-V to return to the market in late 2024.
Honda said it expects to sell more than 1500 ZR-Vs per year. They’re off to a good start on that front, selling out the first shipment of 100 ZR-Vs on the morning of its launch to the market. It expects to sell out and deliver its second shipment to customers before the model’s Clean Car rebate eligibility lapses on July 1.
It’s been roughly two years since the HR-V was last sold in New Zealand – the delay in bringing a replacement not doing the company any favours, since the HR-V had been the company’s most popular model until its departure.
Honda New Zealand also sees itself as a company at the forefront of new-vehicle e-commerce. Its online store launched two years ago as the first full retail and e-commerce website of its kind in the country. And, it’s been a quiet achiever for the brand.
Since launch, Honda New Zealand has sold just 24 cars via the website. This might not sound like many, but it notes that the website’s configurator and quote funnel has led to 459 ‘‘purchase journeys’’ (that’s corporate speak for sales). That’s a strong indication that those captured online generally finish the sale in one of the company’s showrooms.
Honda’s focus on its online store makes perfect sense when you consider the brand’s ‘‘Honda Price Promise’’ haggle-free sales model. This means that the price a consumer pays for a Honda online is the same as how much they would pay in a showroom
. . . a fact that few other new vehicle distributors can boast.
The launch of the ZR-V comes alongside a comprehensive advertising campaign spread across television, print, and digital platforms. Honda has also completely redesigned its online store to mark the occasion, with more tools and revisions to be rolled out later this year.
It has another challenge on its hands, too. Fresh-faced manufacturers from China are swooping in and recording impressive sales totals, dropping these household brands even further from relevancy.
Year-to-date, Honda is less than 100 registrations ahead of BYD, despite the fact that it sells five different models in New Zealand to BYD’s one.
This dovetails with Honda’s other big challenge; the lack of a fully electric model. Even if there is a change of government and the Clean Car Discount EV subsidy model disappears, Honda will still need to get some kind of EV to improve its image and help the cleanliness of its fleet as more rigorous emissions targets approach.
Honda knows this, too. While its presentation on the ZR-V pitched EVs as being at odds to the company’s ‘maintaining car driving joy’ mantra, Honda New Zealand managing director Nobuya Sonoda did acknowledge that ‘‘eventually, electric will come’’.
Delaying the local launch of the latest HR-V, a model already on sale in Australia, until late 2024 could be part of the ploy. Perhaps Honda New Zealand is waiting for the much anticipated fully electric HR-V to break cover before bringing the model Down Under.