Buying the engine and getting a car along with it: A deep analysis of the development history of the Honda brand!

Known for their fuel-efficient and economic characteristics, Japanese cars have garnered numerous praises and a substantial share of the global market. Today, we'll talk about Honda, the Japanese car manufacturer that’s famed for its phrase, "you buy an engine and get a car for free." How was their brand established and developed? When did they venture into the Malaysian market?

1. Honda Foundation

Honda is a multinational Japanese corporation known for manufacturing automobiles, motorcycles, and battery-powered equipment. It was founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda and is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Over many years of growth and development, Honda currently has more than 130 production bases in 29 countries around the world. Its products range from motorcycles to automobiles and Power Products, all are among the top 10 manufacturers globally in terms of production quantity and scale.

2. Honda Products

The brand's history inevitably involves its products. Honda's first real car debuted in 1962 at Suzuka circuit in Japan. This car was a front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car equipped with a 360 cc engine developed by Honda. Named Honda S360, it was launched at the Tokyo Auto Show along with the T360 and S500 sports cars. However, this car, representing the first car of the Honda brand, never made it to the market.

The first car officially launched by Honda was the Honda T360, a pickup truck, which shared the 356 cc AK250E series DOHC inline four-cylinder engine with the first model, the Honda S360. This pickup adopted a mid-rear drive and was built according to the K-Car standard. Therefore, it was widely welcomed as soon as it was launched. As of the end of production, a total of 108,920 Honda T360s were sold.

After talking about the first model and the first model launched by Honda, now it's time to talk about the popular model launched by Honda civic, which is still visible in Malaysia and around the world to this day, and its sales have always maintained a high degree of heat. In 1972, Honda officially announced to the world the globally famous Honda Civic series, and as of today, a total of ten models of Honda civic have been launched, with current prices in Malaysia ranging from RM 131,900 to RM 167,900.

The first-generation Honda Civic was a hatchback with a very small body size, but this car has developed into one of the most famous models in the world. It is mainly because of the excellent fuel consumption of 5.9L/100km that it created at the time, the economic and fuel-saving feature quickly won the favor of consumers. In addition to being produced in Japan, the car was also produced in New Zealand and Johore. However, the founder of Honda resigned as president a year after the Honda Civic went on the market.

After the Honda Civic was accepted by the market, Honda decided to develop a new three-door hatchback based on the Honda Civic to enrich the brand's product line. This car was named the Honda Accord. The Honda Accord is another hot-selling model for Honda following the Honda Civic. In just four short years, the cumulative production of the Honda Accord exceeded one million units, contributing immensely to Honda's global strategy. The current price range of the Honda Accord in the Malaysian market is between RM187,400 and 197,400.

Many people's impression of the Honda Accord is that it's a larger Honda model. However, Honda's initial plan was to make the Honda Accord a competitor to the Mustang. However, due to the impact of the oil crisis, Honda finally chose to modify the plan and make the Honda Accord a front-wheel drive model.

After the success of the model quickly brought the brand to the spotlight, Honda also began to focus on enriching its model lineup, and launched the first-generation Honda City in 1981. Like the Honda Civic and Honda Accord models, the first-generation Honda City was a five-door hatchback. There are currently five Honda City models on sale in the Malaysian market, including four petrol cars and one hybrid car, with a price range of RM84,900 to RM111,900.

In 1982, Honda began manufacturing cars in North America, becoming the first Japanese manufacturer to enter the North American market. In 1983, Kihachiro Kawashima took over the leadership from Soichiro Honda, leading Honda to the international stage and handing over the position of President to Tadashi Kume. During his presidency at Honda, Tadashi Kume was most proud of the development of the world-famous VTEC technology. By 1988, Honda's global production had exceeded 15 million vehicles.

After experiencing a golden period of rapid growth, Honda was hit by the burst of the Japanese bubble economy in the early 1990s, and sales plummeted. In the Japanese market at the time, Honda's sales even fell behind Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda. To reverse the decline, Honda successively launched two models that were well received by consumers worldwide: the Odyssey and CR-V. The first-generation Odyssey was based on the Honda Accord platform, while the CR-V was built on the Honda Civic platform. The launch of these two models quickly boosted Honda's sales and helped it reach the milestone of 30 million units in cumulative global sales in 1995!

Currently, the retail prices for the Honda Odyssey and Honda CR-V in Malaysia are RM275,311 and RM146,900—RM195,900, respectively.

You now have a preliminary understanding of the history of Honda's product development, so what are Honda's responses to the development of global electrified vehicles in the 21st century? The next chapter will continue to explain for you.