History of Honda Company | Journey of 71 Years
Honda is founded in Hamamatsu, Japan in October 1946, and incorporated in 1948. It’s almost 71 years long journey by Honda company. Headquarters of Honda located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda is known as a public company and manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, and automobile equipment.
Honda Founders:
There are two founders of Honda one is Soichiro Honda and the second is Takeo Fujisawa. Soichiro was born in 1906 and died in 1991. He was a Japanese engineer and he was born in Komyo village near Hamamatsu. Soichiro Honda first produced motorized bicycles then move on cars. Fujisawa is the co-founder of Honda motor co.ltd. Fujisawa handles the financial matters of the company and Soichiro looks after the engineering side of Honda company.
Honda Shareholders and Owners:
There are 10 shareholders and owners of Honda company as listed below.
- Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd (5%)
- Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (4.65%)
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., Ltd. (3.84%)
- Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. (2.83%)
- The Vanguard Group, Inc. (2.68%)
- Dodge & Cox (2.30%)
- Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. (1.96%)
- Daiwa Asset Management Co. Ltd. (1.83%)
- Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. (1.75%)
- Nippon Life Insurance Co. (1.58%)
Story of Honda Motors:
Honda started making engines in 1948 for motorcycles and start selling in 1949 with complete motorcycles. They produce Honda c-100 engines for motorcycles in 1953 and it became the world’s most popular motorcycle by the end of 1959.
Journey From 1948 to 1960:
Honda started with 34 employees and with 1-million-yen capital invested only in motorcycles. Honda starts producing farming engines and they made many popular engines till 1959. After producing world popular bike Honda motors entered in racing areas worldwide in 1954. In 1958 Honda C-100 become the world’s most popular motorcycle. Honda makes C-100 is world top-selling engine. 1959 Honda was first established in Los Angeles north America and start producing vehicles. R & D was established in 1960 for research and better development of Honda company and its products.
The journey from 1961 to 1972:
Honda wins the many races and declares as the top 5 victories. Honda produced bikes used 125cc and 250cc for racing class. In Belgium first Honda production begins in 1962, they also completed Suzuka Circuit for international racing tracks. In 1963 Honda produced T360 small cabin trucks. In 1964 Honda appears in formula 1 race with RA271 in Mexico. In 1970 Honda make a safety center for driving. In 1972 Honda become the world safest automobile production company.
Journey From 1970 to 2000:
Honda creates the first navigation system in 1981. In 1982 they make a system for disabled persons. 1982 Honda became the first producer of American cars. 1986 Honda started producing aircraft and jet engines. In 1988 Honda with 15 drags racing out of 16 and become the world’s top drag racers. In 2000 Honda make the human first robot.
Journey From 2002 to 2016
Honda becomes the world’s first vehicle in 2002 to receive a certification of fuel cell cars and started lease sale in us and Japan. In 2012 Honda power products achieve 100 million production milestones. In 2014 Honda achieve 300 million motorcycles milestones. In 2015 Honda win world grand Prix racing. In 2015 Honda rejoin Formula 1 racing with new technologies. In 2015 Honda started Jet deliveries. In 2016 Honda achieve clarity fuel cell cars award. In 2016 Honda complete the 100 million car milestone and become with the world’s largest manufactures.
Revenue of Honda Motor Company:
Honda company continually growing by every year. In 2020 due to coronavirus Honda revenue decreased by 10 billion dollars.
- $138.25B revenue in 2018.
- $142.998B revenue in 2019
- $137.365B revenue in 2020.
Honda Products
1. Automobile
2. Motorcycles
3. ATVS
4. Power equipment
5. Engines
6. Robots
7. Aircraft
8. Mountain bikes
Honda Motors Pricing Strategy
Honda is the world’s best pricing strategy manufactures for their products. Honda prices are not too high but, in few countries, due to government duties and regulation Honda increases their prices of cars. Like Car Prices in Pakistan and in India is increased by 100% due to regulations of governments and taxes.
The journey of Honda in Pakistan
Honda Altas started its journey in Pakistan in 1961 and now operating with 14 companies under the Alta’s Honda. Altas group has its own power production plant in Pakistan. First, locally produced car ins Honda civic in 1994 by Honda Pakistan, after the successful launch of civic Honda produced many cars in Pakistan as new versions of Honda City and Honda Civic comes.
Technology and Performance of Honda cars
Honda Pakistan produces more power than its rival car. However, the debate between Toyota and Honda lovers never ends. Innovation in the auto world is at a tremendous pace, and Honda vehicles are not far behind in cooperation. Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Keeping Assist Assistant System (LKAS), Road Department Mitigation (RDM), Cruise Control and Forward Collision Warning (FCW) etc. There are some technologies in our modern models. . In cars, all of these techniques improve driving safety for people inside and outside Honda cars.
On the other hand, Honda hybrid cars have also been doing very well in the auto world. There are plenty of Honda hybrid models in Pakistan. Named after Honda Accord, Honda Fit, Honda Civic, Honda CRZ, and Honda Vezel, all of these cars have excelled in the Pakistani market
Marketing Strategy of Honda Motors
Honda has brought many attractive product samples to the market. It has also used smart marketing strategies with a focus on building a credible image and trust among consumers. It uses both traditional and digital methods to promote its brand and products. Honda’s advertising and publicity campaigns and events include the slogan “Power of Dreams”. The brand has set for itself a Vision 2030 that will guide its business strategy in the near future. Advertising has always been an important part of Honda’s marketing and advertising strategy.
In the local market, the brand has always spent a lot on promoting its car and motorcycle models. Whether they are Honda City, Civic or Honda CBR bikes, they are always heavily promoted in newspaper and magazine advertisements. Auto Magazine, Autoblog, and other websites dedicated to the automobile industry also offer regular articles on Honda and its products. Television advertising is also an important way to promote Honda products. Her beautiful family car commercials have been promoted through creative television commercials. The commercials promote her as a family car suitable for fun moments and can be easily paired with the Honda Fit Sport.
Excellence for Consumers — Present & Future
Honda did not focus on technological advances that directly benefit consumers. Over the years, Honda Automobiles has been a proud recipient of the High Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) high fuel economy rating, as well as JD Power Consumer Satisfaction Index. Honda Automobiles and Motorcycles are on track to meet EPA and California Air Resource Board (CARB) emissions standards, and the world’s most important competition for solar-powered vehicles is World Solar. Honda has also been a multi-time winner in the challenge.
Perhaps most importantly, in 1989, founder Sochiro Honda became the first Asian to be inducted into the American Automotive Hall of Fame — a legacy of a legacy born with more than 40 years of his life’s work. It’s an important achievement.
With a track record firmly established around the world, Honda’s products have truly become an industry leadership and engineering examples.