Honda's sales in China plunged 40% in April, less than a quarter of BYD

Honda has two joint ventures in China, one is GAC Honda, and the other is Dongfeng Honda, each selling different models.

On May 8, Honda China released its latest sales report, showing that by April 2024, Honda China's terminal car sales were 73,831 units, a year-on-year decline of 22.18%. Among them, GAC Honda was 33,510 units, a year-on-year decline of 44.61%; Dongfeng Honda was 40,321 units, a year-on-year decline of 17.28%. In addition, from January to April 2024, Honda China's cumulative terminal sales were 280,738 units, a year-on-year decline of 10.9%. Of which, GAC Honda was 141,871 units, a year-on-year decline of 20.49%; Dongfeng Honda was 138,867 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.50%.

As one of the three major Japanese giants, Honda is facing unprecedented challenges in the Chinese market. Sales of fuel-efficient cars are gradually stuck in a rut, and electric car consumers are also not buying it. It is understood that Honda China reached a sales peak of 1.627 million units in 2020, and sales have been declining for three consecutive years. From 2021 to 2023, Honda's sales in the Chinese market were 1.5615 million units, 1.3731 million units, and 1.2342 million units, respectively, a year-on-year decrease of 4.0%, 12.07%, and 10.12%. After entering 2024, the sales decline of Honda China has not eased, dropping by 10.9% year-on-year from January to April, with a cumulative sales of 280,700 units.

Honda's performance is increasingly declining in the Chinese market, and it places its future hopes on the electric car market. In July 2023, Honda China announced that it plans to achieve more than 50% electrification by 2025; by 2027, it will no longer launch gasoline car models; and by 2030, it will launch more than 10 pure electric models. Despite numerous reforms Honda has made for the Chinese market, its sales unavoidably fell into a downturn.

In the era of electrification, the consumer environment in China has changed, with a striking feature being that the main car-buying group is gradually becoming younger. From the perspective of brand properties, Japanese brands are relatively conservative, while Chinese independent brands born in fierce competition have always launched distinctive and bold designs to achieve differentiation, which better meets the car usage needs of the younger generation. In the current car usage environment in China, Chinese independent brands have taken the lead, and how Honda, as an internationally renowned car brand, will retain the Chinese market also requires Honda's deep consideration.