The sleeping giant is waking at last. Honda’s stand at the Paris show was filled completely with refreshed or redesigned cars for the first time in a long while ahead of a big year in 2015.
Starting in spring comes the refreshed Civic and CR-V followed, in the summer, by the redesigned Jazz [Fit] and Civic Type R plus the re-introduction of the HR-V crossover, among the first of its kind when introduced in the 1990s but not sold in the UK since 2002.
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Heading into 2016, the carmaker will launch the NSX supercar which is already a sell-out, according to Honda UK cars chief, Leon Brannan.
“We have had massive interest in the NSX,” he said. “In fact we have already sold two years’ worth of production. Even used ones are now selling for more than their original list price.”
He admitted it had been too long since Honda had such a model offensive but the brand is on the way back.
“We are starting to resonate with people once more with new products as well as our Touring Car race programme and re-entry into Formula One. The dealers are very excited particularly after we took some of them to Japan to drive the new models. They can’t wait to get their hands on the HR-V.”
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By GlobalDataThe plan now, said Brannan, is to build sales up from around 55,000 a year in the UK but he doesn’t want to grow too much too quickly.
“The network could handle up 100,000 sales a year but the business would be at its most profitable for us and the dealers at around 80,000 a year for tactical reasons.”
He added that aiming for 100,000 sales would mean chasing corporate business where the margins are lower. Also helping to build the business has been the introduction of private contract purchase (PCP) deals.
Brannan said: “Honda [was] among the last to introduce PCPs so we have some work to do to catch up but this type of purchase now accounts for over 80% of the new car market. Historically our customers have been cash buyers or have raised traditional finance over five years or so.
“Selling three-year PCPs and service packages locks the customers to the dealers and gives us a three year model turn around rather than five. They are already proving really popular.”
