CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

Honda Motor Company, Ltd. (Japanese: Hepburn: Honda Giken Kōgyō KK IPA:
[honda] is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate corporation primarily known as
a manufacturer of automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and power equipment.

Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the
world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume,
producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became
the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001. Honda was the eighth
largest automobile manufacturer in the world behind Toyota, Volkswagen
Group, Hyundai Motor Group, General Motors, Ford, Nissan, and Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles in 2015.

Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury
brand, Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses,
Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft and
power generators, and other products. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with
artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. They
have also ventured into aerospace with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in
2004 and the Honda HA-420 Honda Jet, which began production in 2012. Honda has
three joint-ventures in China (Honda China, Dongfeng Honda, and Guangqi Honda).

In 2013, Honda invested about 5.7% (US$6.8 billion) of its revenues in research and
development. Also in 2013, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to be a net
exporter from the United States, exporting 108,705 Honda and Acura models, while
importing only 88,357

1.1 ABOUT THE CHAIRMAN

Brijmohan Lall Munjal – Seeding a Dream

"Don't dream if you can't fulfill your dreams'' Brijmohan Lall Munjal is often fond

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 of saying. The founder and patriarch of the $ 2.8 billion Hero Group is your classic
first generation entrepreneur. He is a man who started small, dreamt big and used a
combination of grit and perseverance to create one of the country's largest corporate
groups and the World's No.1 Two Wheeler Company.
Instinctive from a young age, Brijmohan Lall made a rather unusual start in life.
Around the time when the freedom movement in India was taking shape in the late
1920s, he walked into a newly opened Gurukul (Indian heritage school) near his
home in Kamalia (now in Pakistan). He was only six years old then.
Thus began an extraordinary tale of courage and perseverance. Brijmohan began his
business story after partition in 1947, when he and his brothers relocated to Ludhiana.
The family set up a company that provided poor people with basic transport (cycles).
Three decades later, as India evolved, he added a second crucial chapter - which
visualized affordable and technologically superior transport to millions of middle class
Indians. The rest is history.

1.2 Building Relationships

When Brijmohan and his brothers started out, there was no concept of organized
dealer networks. Companies just produced, and most dealers functioned like traders.
Brijmohan changed the rules of the business by trusting his gut instincts; introducing
business norms that were ahead of their time, and by investing in strategic relationships.
Brijmohan built a series of bonds and networks with hundreds of family members,
vendors, dealers and employees. Much like the Japanese keiretsu system, these networks
are now the glue that holds the Hero Group together.

"Thanks to the relationships that we have nurtured so passionately in the Hero

Family, the younger generations of some of our bicycle dealers have become dealers of
Hero Honda. These relationships have survived through generations - through bad
times and good times'' the patriarch now reminiscences.
Besides bonding with his vendors and dealers, Brijmohan has been personally
responsible for kindling a spirit of entrepreneurship amongst his employees, and
today, 40 of his former employees are successful entrepreneurs.

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1.3 Staying Ahead
Though not technically qualified in the conventional sense, few of his
contemporaries have understood the dynamics of technology better than Brijmohan
Lall has. He could always visualize the applicability of technology before others could.
For example, in the 1980s, when all two-wheeler companies in India opted for two-
stroke engine technology, Brijmohan preferred a four-stoke engine - a technology that
dramatically increased fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance costs. This technology
was one of the biggest reasons for Hero Honda's stupendous success.
Time and again, Brijmohan managed to steal a march over his industry peers. For
example, when Honda Motors of Japan was looking for a collaborator in the 1980s,
the Hero Group was not high up the pecking order initially as there were other more
eligible and established suitors.
Yet it didn't take long for the astute Japanese to realize that the Hero Group and
Honda had much more in common than earlier perceived; there a sharp focus on
financial and raw material management, and employee turnover was low. Honda
officials were also amazed to find that the Munjals were already practicing "Just-in-
time-inventory" at the time (JIT). It turned out that Brijmohan Lall's aspiration to
provide cheap transportation to India's poor by default ensured lean and cost-effective
operations. This in turn increased vendor efficiency and led to near-zero inventories.

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 CHAPTER II
COMPANY PROFILE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
No. Name of the Directors Designation
1 Mr. Brijmohan Lall Munjal Chairman & Whole-Time

Director

2 Mr. Pawan Munjal Managing Director & CEO

3 Mr. Toshiaki Nakagawa Joint Managing Director

4 Mr. Sumihisa Fukuda Technical Director

5 Mr. Om Prakash Munjal Non-executive Director

6 Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal Non-executive Director

7 Mr. Masahiro Takedagawa Non-executive Director

8 Mr. Satoshi Matsuzawa Non-executive Director

(Alternate Director to Mr.

Takashi Nagai)

9 Mr. Pradeep Dinodia Non-executive &

Independent Director

10 Gen.(Retd.) Ved Prakash Non-executive &

Malik Independent Director

11 Mr. Analjit Singh Non-executive &

Independent Director

12 Dr. Pritam Singh Non-executive &

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 02 History
Throughout his life, Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda, had an interest in
automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at the Art Shokai garage, where he tuned cars and
entered them in races. In 1937, with financing from his acquaintance Kato Shichirō,
Honda founded Tōkai Seiki (Eastern Sea Precision Machine Company) to make
piston rings working out of the Art Shokai garage. After initial failures, Tōkai Seiki won
a contract to supply piston rings to Toyota, but lost the contract due to the poor quality of
their products.[After attending engineering school without graduating, and visiting
factories around Japan to better understand Toyota's quality control processes, by 1941
Honda was able to mass-produce piston rings acceptable to Toyota, using an automated
process that could employ even unskilled wartime laborers.

Tōkai Seiki was placed under control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
(called the Ministry of Munitions after 1943) at the start of World War II, and Soichiro
Honda was demoted from president to senior managing director after Toyota took a 40%
stake in the company. Honda also aided the war effort by assisting other companies in
automating

the production of military aircraft propellers.The relationships Honda cultivated with

personnel at Toyota, Nakajima Aircraft Company and the Imperial Japanese Navy the
war for ¥450,000, and used the proceeds to found the Honda Technical Research Institute
in October 1946.
With a staff of 12 men working in a 16 m2 (170 sq ft) shack, they built and sold
improvised motorized bicycles, using a supply of 500 two-stroke 50 cc Tohatsu war
surplus radio engines. When the engines ran out, Honda began building their own copy of
the Tohatsu engine, and supplying these to customers to attach to their bicycles. This was
the Honda A-Type, nicknamed the Bata for the sound the engine made. In 1949, the
Honda Technical Research Institute was liquidated for ¥1,000,000, or about US$5,000
today; these funds were used to incorporate Honda Motor Co., Ltd. At about the same
time Honda hired engineer Kihachiro Kawashima, and Takeo Fujisawa who provided
indispensable business and marketing expertise to complement Soichiro Honda's
technical bent. The close partnership between Soichiro Honda and Fujisawa lasted until
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they stepped down together in October 1973.
The first complete motorcycle, with both the frame and engine made by Honda, was
the 1949 D-Type, the first Honda to go by the name Dream. Honda Motor Company
grew in a short time to become the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964.
The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck, which
went on sale in August 1963. Powered by a small 356-cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it
was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket. The first production car from Honda
was the S500 sports car, which followed the T360 into production in October 1963. Its
chain-driven rear wheels pointed to Honda's motorcycle origins.

Over the next few decades, Honda worked to expand its product line and expanded
operations and exports to numerous countries around the world. In 1986, Honda
introduced the successful Acura brand to the American market in an attempt to gain
ground in the luxury vehicle market. The year 1991 saw the introduction of the Honda
NSX supercar, the first all-aluminum monologue vehicle that incorporated a mid-engine
V6 with variable-valve timing.
CEO Tadashi Kume was succeeded by Nobuhiko Kawamoto in 1990. Kawamoto was
selected over Shoichiro Irimajiri, who oversaw the successful establishment of Honda of
America Manufacturing, Inc. in Marysville, Ohio. Both Kawamoto and Irimajiri shared a
friendly rivalry within Honda, and Irimajiri would resign in 1992 due to health issues.
Following the death of Soichiro Honda and the departure of Irimajiri, Honda found
itself quickly being outpaced in product development by other Japanese automakers and
was caught off-guard by the truck and sport utility vehicle boom of the 1990s, all which
took a toll on the profitability of the company. Japanese media reported in 1992 and 1993
that Honda was at serious risk of an unwanted and hostile takeover by Mitsubishi Motors,
who at the time was a larger automaker by volume and flush with profits from their
successful Pajero and Diamante.
Kawamoto acted quickly to change Honda's corporate culture, rushing through market-
driven product development that resulted in recreational vehicles such as the
firstgeneration Odyssey and the CR-V, and a refocusing away from some of the
numerous sedans and coupes that were popular with Honda's engineers but not with the
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buying public. The most shocking change to Honda came when Kawamoto ended
Honda's successful participation in Formula One after the 1992 season, citing costs in
light of the takeover threat from Mitsubishi as well as the desire to create a more
environmentally- friendly company image.
Later, 1995 gave rise to the Honda Aircraft Company with the goal of producing jet
aircraft under Honda's name.
On 23 February 2015, Honda announced that CEO and President Takanobu Ito would
step down and be replaced by Takahiro Hachigo by June; additional retirements by senior
managers and directors were expected.

2.1 Corporate profile and divisions

Honda is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Their shares trade on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as exchanges in Osaka,
Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Fukuoka, London, Paris and Switzerland.

The company has assembly plants around the globe. These plants are located in China,
the United States, Pakistan, Canada, England, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, México, New
Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Taiwan,
Perú and Argentina. As of July 2010, 89 percent of Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the
United States were built in North American plants, up from 82.2 percent a year earlier.
This shields profits from the yen's advance to a 15-year high against the dollar

Honda's Net Sales and Other Operating Revenue by Geographical Regions in 2007

Geographic Region Total revenue (in millions of ¥)

Japan 1,681,190

North America 5,980,876

Europe 1,236,757

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Asia 1,283,154

Others 905,163

American Honda Motor Company is based in Torrance, California. Honda Racing

Corporation (HRC) is Honda's motorcycle racing division. Honda Canada Inc. is
headquartered in Markham, Ontario,it was originally planned to be located in Richmond
Hill, Ontario, but delays led them to look elsewhere. Their manufacturing
division, Honda of Canada Manufacturing, is based in Alliston, Ontario. Honda has also
created joint ventures around the world, such as Honda Siel Cars and Hero Honda
Motorcycles in India,Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Honda in China, Boon Siew
Honda in Malaysia and Honda Atlas in Pakistan.

Following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 Honda announced plans
to halve production at its UK plants.The decision was made to put staff at the Swindon

plant on a 2-day week until the end of May as the manufacturer struggled to source
supplies from Japan. It's thought around 22,500 cars were produced during this period.

headquarters building in Minato, Tokyo

2.2 Leadership

Name Years

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Soichiro Honda 1948–1973

Kiyoshi Kawashima 1973–1983

Tadashi Kume 1983–1990

Nobuhiko Kawamoto 1990–1998

Hiroyuki Yoshino 1998–2003

Takeo Fukui 2003–2009

Takanobu Ito 2009–2015

Takahiro Hachigo 2015–

2.3 Products

2.3.1 Automobiles

Honda's global lineup consists of the Fit, Civic, Accord, Insight, CR-V, CR-
Z, Legend and two versions of the Odyssey, one for North America, and a smaller
vehicle sold internationally. An early proponent of developing vehicles to cater to
different needs and markets worldwide, Honda's lineup varies by country and may have
vehicles exclusive to that region. A few examples are the latest Honda
Odyssey minivan and the Ridgeline, Honda's first light-duty uni-body pickup truck. Both
were designed and engineered primarily in North America and are produced there. Other
example of exclusive models includes the Honda Civic five-door hatchback sold in
Europe.

Honda's automotive manufacturing ambitions can be traced back to 1963, with the
Honda T360, a kei car truck built for the Japanese market.This was followed by the
two- door roadster, the Honda S500 also introduced in 1963. In 1965, Honda built a two-
door commercial delivery van, called the Honda L700. Honda's first four-door sedan was
not the Accord, but the air-cooled, four-cylinder, gasoline-powered Honda 1300 in 1969.
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The Civic was a hatchback that gained wide popularity internationally, but it wasn't the
first two-door hatchback built. That was the Honda N360, another Kei car that was
adapted for international sale as the N600. The Civic, which appeared in 1972 and
replaced the N600 also had a smaller sibling that replaced the air-cooled N360, called the
Honda Life that was water-cooled.

The Honda Life represented Honda's efforts in competing in the kei car segment,
offering sedan, delivery van and small pick-up platforms on a shared chassis. The Life
StepVan had a novel approach that, while not initially a commercial success, appears to
be an influence in vehicles with the front passengers sitting behind the engine, a large
cargo area with a flat roof and a liftgate installed in back, and utilizing a transversely
installed engine with a front-wheel-drive powertrain.

As Honda entered into automobile manufacturing in the late 1960s, where Japanese
manufacturers such as Toyota and Nissan had been making cars since before WWII, it
appears that Honda instilled a sense of doing things a little differently than its Japanese
competitors. Its mainstay products, like the Accord and Civic (with the exception of its
USA-market 1993–97 Passport which was part of a vehicle exchange program with Isuzu
(part of the Subaru-Isuzu joint venture)), have always employed front-wheel-
drive powertrain implementation, which is currently a long held Honda tradition. Honda
also installed new technologies into their products, first as optional equipment, then later
standard, like anti lock brakes, speed sensitive power steering, and multi-port fuel
injection in the early 1980s. This desire to be the first to try new approaches is evident

with the creation of the first Japanese luxury chain Acura, and was also evident with the
all aluminum, mid-engined sports car, the Honda NSX, which also introduced variable
valve timing technology, Honda calls VTEC.

The Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North
America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously running nameplate from a
Japanese manufacturer; only its perennial rival, the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968,
has been in production longer.The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised
Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was
expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become
larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.
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 Honda produces Civic hybrid, a hybrid electric vehicle that competes with the Toyota
Prius, and also produces the Insight and CR-Z.

In 2008, Honda increased global production to meet demand for small cars and hybrids
in the U.S. and emerging markets. The company shuffled U.S. production to keep
factories busy and boost car output, while building fewer minivans and sport
utility vehicles as light trucksales fell.

Its first entrance into the pickup segment, the light duty Ridgeline, won Truck of the Year
from Motor Trend magazine in 2006. Also in 2006, the redesigned Civic won Car of the
Year from the magazine, giving Honda a rare double win of Motor Trend honors.
Honda's 9th generation Civic also won the Car of the Year award based on a public
survey held by PakWheels

It is reported that Honda plans to increase hybrid sales in Japan to more than 20% of its
total sales in fiscal year 2011, from 14.8% in previous year.

Five of United States Environmental Protection Agency's top ten most fuel-efficient
cars from 1984 to 2010 comes from Honda, more than any other automakers. The five
models are: 2000–2006 Honda Insight (53 mpg-US or 4.4 L/100 km or 64 mpg-imp
combined), 1986–1987 Honda Civic Coupe HF (46 mpg-US or 5.1 L/100
km or 55 mpg-imp combined), 1994–1995 Honda Civic hatchback VX (43 mpg-US
orL/100 km or 52 mpg-imp combined), 2006– Honda Civic Hybrid (42 mpg-US
orL/100 km or 50 mpg-imp combined), and 2010– Honda Insight (41 mpg-US
orL/100 km or 49 mpg-imp combined) The ACEEE has also rated the Civic GX as the
greenest car in America for seven consecutive years

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 Honda Accord Tenth Generation Civic hatchback in
production from 2016–present

2.3.2 Motors

In 2017, India became the largest motorcycle market of Honda. In India, Honda is
leading in the scooters segment, with 59 percent market share.

During the 1960s, when it was a small manufacturer, Honda broke out of the Japanese
motorcycle market and began exporting to the U.S. Working with the advertising
agency Grey Advertising, Honda created an innovative marketing campaign, using the
slogan "You meet the nicest people on a Honda." In contrast to the prevailing negative
stereotypes of motorcyclists in America as tough, antisocial rebels, this campaign
suggested that Honda motorcycles were made for the everyman. The campaign was
hugely successful; the ads ran for three years, and by the end of 1963 alone, Honda had
sold 90,000 motorcycles.

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 Taking Honda's story as an archetype of the smaller manufacturer entering a new
market already occupied by highly dominant competitors, the story of their market entry,
and their subsequent huge success in the U.S. and around the world, has been the subject
of some academic controversy. Competing explanations have been advanced to explain
Honda's strategy and the reasons for their success.

The first of these explanations was put forward when, in 1975, Boston Consulting
Group (BCG) was commissioned by the UK government to write a report explaining why
and how the British motorcycle industry had been out-competed by its Japanese
competitors. The report concluded that the Japanese firms, including Honda, had sought a
very high scale of production (they had made a large number of motorbikes) in order to
benefit from economies of scale and learning curve effects. It blamed the decline of the
British motorcycle industry on the failure of British managers to invest enough in their
businesses to profit from economies of scale and scope.

2004 Honda Super Cub

The second explanation was offered in 1984 by Richard Pascale, who had interviewed
the Honda executives responsible for the firm's entry into the U.S. market. As opposed to
the tightly focused strategy of low cost and high scale that BCG accredited to Honda,
Pascale found that their entry into the U.S. market was a story of "miscalculation,
serendipity, and organizational learning" – in other words, Honda's success was due to
the adaptability and hard work of its staff, rather than any long term strategy. For
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example, Honda's initial plan on entering the US was to compete in large motorcycles,
around 300 cc. Honda's motorcycles in this class suffered performance and reliability
problems when ridden the relatively long distances of the US highways. When the team
found that the scooters they were using to get themselves around their U.S. base of
San Francisco attracted positive interest from consumers that they fell back on
selling the Super Cub instead.

The most recent school of thought on Honda's strategy was put forward by Gary
Hamel and C. K. Prahalad in 1989. Creating the concept of core competencies with
Honda as an example, they argued that Honda's success was due to its focus on
leadership in the technology of internal combustion engines.For example, the high power-
to-weight ratio engines Honda produced for its racing bikes provided technology and
expertise which was transferable into mopeds. Honda's entry into the U.S. motorcycle
market during the 1960s is used as a case study for teaching introductory strategy at
business schools worldwide.

2.4 Power equipment

Production started in 1953 with H-type engine (prior to motorcycle).

Honda power equipment reached record sales in 2007 with 6.4 million units. By
2010 (Fiscal year ended 31 March) this figure had decreased to 4,7 million units.
Cumulative production of power products has exceeded 85 million units (as of September
2008).

Honda power equipment includes:

 Engine
 Tiller

 Lawn mower
 Robotic lawn mower
 Riding mower
 Trimmer
 Mower
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 Blower
 Sprayer
 Hedge trimmer
 Snow thrower
 Generator, welding power supply
 Pumps
 Outboard engine
 Inflatable boat
 Electric 4-wheel Scooter
 Compact Household Cogeneration Unit

2.4.1 Engines

Honda engines powered the entire 33-car starting field of the 2010 Indianapolis 500
and for the fifth consecutive race, there were no engine-related retirements during the
running of the Memorial Day Classic.

In the 1980s Honda developed the GY6 engine for use in motor scooters. Although no
longer manufactured by Honda it is still commonly used in many Chinese, Korean and
Taiwanese light vehicles.

Honda, despite being known as an engine company, has never built a V8 for passenger
vehicles. In the late 1990s, the company resisted considerable pressure from its American
dealers for a V8 engine (which would have seen use in top-of-the-line Honda SUVs
and Acuras), with American Honda reportedly sending one dealer a shipment of V8
beverages to silence them.Honda considered starting V8 production in the mid-2000s for
larger Acura sedans, a new version of the high end NSX sports car (which previously
used DOHC V6 engines with VTEC to achieve its high power output) and possible future
ventures into the American full-size truck and SUV segment for both the Acura and
Honda brands, but this was cancelled in late 2008, with Honda citing environmental and
worldwide economic conditions as reasons for the termination of this project.

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 Honda Outboard motor on a pontoon boat
2.4.2 Robots

ASIMO is the part of Honda's Research & Development robotics program. It is the
eleventh in a line of successive builds starting in 1986 with Honda E0 moving through
the ensuing Honda E series and the Honda P series. Weighing 54 kilograms and standing
130 centimeters tall, ASIMO resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack, and can
walk on two feet in a manner resembling human locomotion, at up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph).
ASIMO is the world's only humanoid robot able to ascend and descend stairs
independently.However, human motions such as climbing stairs are difficult to mimic
with a machine, which ASIMO has demonstrated by taking two plunges off a staircase.

Honda's robot ASIMO (see below) as an R&D project brings together expertise to create
a robot that walks, dances and navigates steps. 2010 marks the year Honda has developed
a machine capable of reading a user's brainwaves to move ASIMO. The system uses a
helmet covered with electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy sensors that
monitor electrical brainwaves and cerebral blood flow—signals that alter slightly during
the human thought process. The user thinks of one of a limited number of gestures it

wants from the robot, which has been fitted with a Brain Machine Interface.

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 ASIMO at Expo 2005
2.4.3 Aircraft
Main article: Honda HA-420 Honda Jet

Honda has also pioneered new technology in its HA-420 Honda Jet, manufactured by
its subsidiary Honda Aircraft Company, which allows new levels of reduced drag,
increased aerodynamics and fuel efficiency thus reducing operating costs.

2.4.4 Mountain bikes

See also: Honda RN-01 G-cross

Honda has also built a downhill racing bicycle known as the Honda RN-01. It is not
available for sale to the public. The bike has a gearbox, which replaces the
standard derailleur found on most bikes.

Honda has hired several people to pilot the bike, among them Greg Minnaar. The team is
known as Team G Cross Honda.

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2.5 Former products

2.5.1 ATV

See also: Honda Rincon

Honda also builds all-terrain vehicles (ATV). 420 450r 400ex 300ex 250r

2.5.2 Solar cells

Honda's solar cell subsidiary company Honda Soltec (Headquarters: Kikuchi-gun,

Kumamoto; President and CEO: Akio Kazusa) started sales throughout Japan of thin-film
solar cells for public and industrial use on 24 October 2008, after selling solar cells for
residential use since October 2007.Honda announced in the end of October 2013 that
Honda Soltec would cease the business operation except for support for existing
customers in Spring 2014 and the subsidiary would be dissolved.

2.6 Motorsports

Honda has been active in motorsports, like Motorcycle Grand Prix, Superbike racing and
others.

2.6.1 Automobile

See also: Honda in Formula One

Rubens Barrichello driving for Honda

Honda entered Formula One as a constructor for the first time in the 1964 season
at the German Grand Prix with Ronnie Bucknum at the wheel. 1965 saw the
addition of Richie Ginther to the team, who scored Honda's first point at the
Belgian Grand Prix, and Honda's first win at the Mexican Grand Prix. 1967 saw

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their next win at the Italian Grand Prix with John Surtees as their driver. In 1968,
Jo Schlesser was killed in a Honda RA302 at the French Grand Prix. This racing
tragedy, coupled with their commercial difficulties selling automobiles in the
United States, prompted Honda to withdraw from all international motorsport that
year.
After a learning year in 1965, Honda-powered Brabhams dominated the 1966
French Formula Two championship in the hands of Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme. As
there was no European Championship that season, this was the top F2 championship that
year. In the early 1980s Honda returned to F2, supplying engines to Ron Tauranac's Ralt
team. Tauranac had designed the Brabham cars for their earlier involvement. They were
again extremely successful. In a related exercise, John
Judd's Engine Developments company produced a turbo "Brabham-Honda" engine for
use in IndyCar racing. It won only one race, in 1988 for Bobby Rahal at Pocono.

Honda returned to Formula One in 1983, initially with another Formula Two partner,
the Spirit team, before switching abruptly to Williams in 1984. In the late 1980s and early
1990s, Honda powered cars won six consecutive Formula One Constructors
Championships. WilliamsF1 won the crown in 1986 and 1987. Honda switched
allegiance again in 1988. New partners McLaren won the title
in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. Honda withdrew from Formula One at the end of 1992,
although the related Mugen-Honda company maintained a presence up to the end of
1999, winning four races with Ligier and Jordan Grand Prix.

Honda debuted in the CART IndyCar World Series as a works supplier in 1994. The
engines were far from competitive at first, but after development, the company powered
six consecutive drivers championships. In 2003, Honda transferred its effort to the
rival IRL IndyCar Series with Ilmor as joint development until 2006. In 2004, Honda-
powered cars overwhelmingly dominated the IndyCar Series, winning 14 of 16 IndyCar
races, including the Indianapolis 500, and claimed the IndyCar Series Manufacturers'
Championship, Drivers' Championship and Rookie of the Year titles. From 2006 to 2011,
Honda was the lone engine supplier for the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis
500. In the 2006 Indianapolis 500, for the first time in Indianapolis 500 history, the race
19
was run without a single engine problem.Since 2012, HPD has constructed turbocharged
V-6 engines for its IndyCar effort.

During 1998, Honda considered returning to Formula One with their own team. The
project was aborted after the death of its technical director, Harvey Postlethwaite. Honda
instead came back as an official engine supplier to British American Racing (BAR) and
Jordan Grand Prix. Honda bought a stake in the BAR team in 2004 before buying the
team outright at the end of 2005, becoming a constructor for the first time since the
1960s. Honda won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix with driver Jenson Button.

It was announced on 5 December 2008, that Honda would be exiting Formula One
with immediate effect due to the 2008 global economic crisis.The team was sold to
former team principal Ross Brawn, renamed Brawn GP and subsequently Mercedes.
Honda became an official works team in the British Touring Car Championship in 2010.
Honda made an official announcement on 16 May 2013 that it planned to re-enter into
Formula One in 2015 as an engine supplier to McLaren.On 15 September 2017, after a
winless campaign spanning three seasons without yielding a single podium and achieving
a best finish of fifth place, McLaren announced their divorce from Honda, with the latter
going on to sign a multi-year deal to supply Toro Rosso, the junior team of Red Bull
Racing.

2.6.2 Motorcycles

Honda RC212V raced by Dani Pedrosa

Main article: Honda Racing Corporation

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 Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) was formed in 1982. The company combines
participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of high
potential racing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of
leading edge technologies used in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC also
contributes to the advancement of motorcycle sports through a range of activities that
include sales of production racing motorcycles, support for satellite teams, and rider
education programs.

Soichiro Honda, being a race driver himself, could not stay out of
international motorsport. In 1959, Honda entered five motorcycles into the Isle of Man
TT race, the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. While always having
powerful engines, it took until 1961 for Honda to tune their chassis well enough to
allow Mike Hailwood to claim their first Grand Prix victories in the 125 and
250 cc classes. Hailwood would later pick up their first Senior TT wins in 1966 and 1967.
Honda's race bikes were known for their "sleek & stylish design" and exotic engine
configurations, such as the 5-cylinder, 22,000 rpm, 125 cc bike and their 6-cylinder
250 cc and 297 cc bikes.

In 1979, Honda returned to Grand Prix motorcycle racing with the monocoque-
framed, four-stroke NR500. The FIM rules limited engines to four cylinders, so the
NR500 had non-circular, 'race-track', cylinders, each with 8 valves and two connecting
rods, in order to provide sufficient valve area to compete with the dominant two-
stroke racers. Unfortunately, it seemed Honda tried to accomplish too much at one time
and the experiment failed. For the 1982 season, Honda debuted their first two-stroke race
bike, the NS500 and in 1983, Honda won their first 500 cc Grand Prix World
Championship with Freddie Spencer. Since then, Honda has become a dominant marque
in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, winning a plethora of top level titles with riders such
as Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi. Honda also head the number of wins at the Isle of
Man TT having notched up 227 victories in the solo classes and Sidecar
TT, including Ian Hutchinson's clean sweep at the 2010 races

21
The outright lap record on the Snaefell Mountain Course was held by Honda, set at the
2015 TT by John McGuinness at an average speed of 132.701 mph (213.562 km/h) on
a Honda CBR1000RR,bettered the next year by Michael Dunlop on a BMW S1000RR at
133.962 mph (215.591 km/h).

In the Motocross World Championship, Honda has claimed six world championships. In
the World Enduro Championship, Honda has captured eight titles, most recently
with Stefan Merriman in 2003 and with Mika Ahola from 2007 to 2010. In motorcycle
trials, Honda has claimed three world championships with Belgian rider Eddy Lejeune.

22
 CHAPTER III

INDUSTRY PROFILE

3.1 Electric and alternative fuel vehicles

2009 Honda Civic GX hooked up to Phil refueling system

3.1.1 Compressed natural gas

The Honda Civic GX was for a long time the only purpose-built natural gas
vehicle (NGV) commercially available in some parts of the U.S. The Honda Civic GX
first appeared in 1998 as a factory-modified Civic LX that had been designed to run
exclusively on compressed natural gas. The car looks and drives just like a
contemporary Honda Civic LX, but does not run on gasoline. In 2001, the Civic GX was
rated the cleanest-burning internal combustion engine in the world by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

First leased to the City of Los Angeles, in 2005, Honda started offering the GX
directly to the public through factory trained dealers certified to service the GX. Before
that, only fleets were eligible to purchase a new Civic GX. In 2006, the Civic GX was
released in New York, making it the second state where the consumer is able to buy the
car.

In June 2015, Honda announced its decision to phase out the commercialization of
natural-gas powered vehicles to focus on the development of a new generation
of electrified vehicles such as hybrids, plug-in electric cars and hydrogen-powered fuel
cell vehicles. Since 2008, Honda has sold about 16,000 natural-gas vehicles, mainly to
taxiandcommercialfleets.
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 Top: Brazilian flexible-fuel Honda Civic. Below: U.S. Honda Civic Hybrid

3.1.2 Flexible-fuel

Honda's Brazilian subsidiary launched flexible-fuel versions for the Honda

Civic and Honda Fit in late 2006. As other Brazilian flex-fuel vehicles, these models run
on any blend of hydrous ethanol (E100) and E20-E25 gasoline.Initially, and in order to
test the market preferences, the carmaker decided to produce a limited share of the
vehicles with flex-fuel engines, 33 percent of the Civic production and 28 percent of the
Fit models.Also, the sale price for the flex-fuel version was higher than the respective
gasoline versions, around US$1,000 premium for the Civic, and US$650 for the Fit,
despite the fact that all other flex-fuel vehicles sold in Brazil had the same tag price as
their gasoline versions.In July 2009, Honda launched in the Brazilian market its third
flexible-fuel car, the Honda City.

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During the last two months of 2006, both flex-fuel models sold 2,427 cars against 8,546
gasoline-powered automobiles, jumping to 41,990 flex-fuel cars in 2007, and reaching
93,361 in 2008. Due to the success of the flex versions, by early 2009 a hundred percent
of Honda's automobile production for the Brazilian market is now flexible-fuel, and only
a small percentage of gasoline version is produced in Brazil for exports.

In March 2009, Honda launched in the Brazilian market the first flex-fuel motorcycle in
the world. Produced by its Brazilian subsidiary Moto Honda da Amazônia, the CG 150
Titan Mix is sold for around US$2,700.

3.1.3 Hybrid electric

Honda CR-Z, the first sports coupe hybrid to come with a six-speed manual
transmission

In late 1999, Honda launched the first commercial hybrid electric car sold in the U.S.
market, the Honda Insight, just one month before the introduction of the Toyota Prius,
and initially sold for US$20,000.The first-generation Insight was produced from 2000 to
2006 and had a fuel economy of 70 miles per US gallon (3.4 L/100 km; 84 mpg-imp) for
the EPA's highway rating, the most fuel-efficient mass-produced car at the time.Total

25
global sales for the Insight amounted to only around 18,000 vehicles.Cumulative global
sales reached 100,000 hybrids in 2005 and 200,000 in 2007.

Honda introduced the second-generation Insight in Japan in February 2009, and released
it in other markets through 2009 and in the U.S. market in April 2009. At $19,800 as a

five-door hatchback it will be the least expensive hybrid available in the U.S. 2010
Honda Insight hybrid electric vehicle (Second generation) Since 2002, Honda has also
been selling the Honda Civic Hybrid (2003 model) in the U.S. market.It was followed by
the Honda Accord Hybrid, offered in model years 2005 through 2007. Sales of the Honda
CR-Z began in Japan in February 2010, becoming Honda's third hybrid electric car in the
market. As of February 2011, Honda was producing around 200,000 hybrids a year in
Japan. Sales of the Fit Hybrid began in Japan in October 2010, at the time, the lowest
price for a gasoline-hybrid electric vehicle sold in the country. The European version,
called Honda Jazz Hybrid, was released in early 2011. During 2011 Honda launched
three hybrid models available only in Japan, the Fit Shuttle Hybrid, Freed Hybrid and
Freed Spike Hybrid.

Honda's cumulative global hybrid sales passed the 1 million unit milestone at the end of
September 2012, 12 years and 11 months after sales of the first generation Insight began
in Japan November 1999. A total of 187,851 hybrids were sold worldwide in 2013, and
158,696 hybrids during the first six months of 2014. of June 2014, Honda has sold more
than 1.35 million hybrids worldwide.

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3.1.4 Hydrogen fuel cell

Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle

In Takanezawa, Japan, on 16 June 2008, Honda Motors produced the first assembly-
line FCX Clarity, a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. More efficient than a gas-electric
hybrid vehicle, the FCX Clarity combines hydrogen and oxygen from ordinary air to
generate electricity for an electric motor. In July 2014 Honda announced the end of
production of the Honda FCX Clarity for the 2015 model.

The vehicle itself does not emit any pollutants and its only by products are heat and
water. The FCX Clarity also has an advantage over gas-electric hybrids in that it does not
use an internal combustion engine to propel itself. Like a gas-electric hybrid, it uses
a lithium ion battery to assist the fuel cell during acceleration and capture energy
through regenerative braking, thus improving fuel efficiency. The lack of hydrogen
filling stations throughout developed countries will keep production volumes low.Honda
will release the vehicle in groups of 150. California is the only U.S. market with
infrastructure for fueling such a vehicle, though the number of stations is still limited.
Building more stations is expensive, as the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
granted $6.8 million for four H2 fueling stations, costing $1.7 million USD each.

Honda views hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as the long term replacement of piston cars, not
battery cars.

27
3.1.5 Plug-in electric vehicles

Honda Fit EV concept unveiled at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show

The all-electric Honda EV Plus was introduced in 1997 as a result of CARB's zero-
emissions vehicle mandate and was available only for leasing in California. The EV plus
was the first battery electric vehicle from a major automaker with non-lead–acid
batteries The EV Plus had an all-electric range of 100 mi (160 km). Around 276 units
were sold in the U.S. and production ended in 1999.

The all-electric Honda Fit EV was introduced in 2012 and has a range of 82 mi
(132 km).The all-electric car was launched in the U.S. to retail customers in July 2012
with initial availability limited to California and Oregon. Production is limited to only
1,100 units over the first three years. A total of 1,007 units have been leased in the U.S.
through September 2014.The Fit EV was released in Japan through leasing to local
government and corporate customers in August 2012. Availability in the Japanese market
is limited to 200 units during its first two years.In July 2014 Honda announced the end of
production of the Fit EV for the 2015 model.

The Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid was introduced in 2013 and has an all-electric
range of 13 mi (21 km) Sales began in the U.S. in January 2013 and the plug-in hybrid is
available only in California and New York. A total of 835 units have been sold in the
U.S. through September 2014.The Accord PHEV was introduced in Japan in June 2013
and is available only for leasing, primarily to corporations and government agencies.

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3.2 Marketing

3.2.1 Japanese marketing

Honda Clio (Saitama, Japan)

Starting in 1978, Honda in Japan decided to diversify its sales distribution channels,
and created Honda Verno, which sold established products with a higher content of
standard equipment and a more sporting nature.The establishment of Honda Verno
coincided with its new sports compact, called the Honda Prelude. Later, the Honda Vigor,
the Honda Ballade, and the Honda Quint were added to Honda Verno stores. This
approach was implemented due to efforts in place by rival Japanese automakers Toyota
and Nissan.

29
3.2.2 Honda Primo (Osaka)

As sales progressed, Honda created two more sales channels, called Honda Clio in 1984,
and Honda Primoin 1985. The Honda Clio chain sold products that were traditionally
associated with Honda dealerships before 1978, like the Honda Accord, and Honda Primo
sold the Honda Civic, kei cars, such as the Honda Today, superminis like the Honda
Capa, along with other Honda products, such as farm equipment, lawn mowers, portable
generators, marine equipment, plus motorcycles and scooters like the Honda .

As sales progressed, Honda created two more sales channels, called Honda Clio in 1984,
and Honda Primoin 1985. The Honda Clio chain sold products that were traditionally
associated with Honda dealerships before 1978, like the Honda Accord, and Honda
Primo sold the Honda Civic, kei cars, such as the Honda Today, superminis like
the Honda Capa, along with other Honda products, such as farm equipment, lawn
mowers, portable generators, marine equipment, plus motorcycles and scooters like

the Honda Super Cub. A styling tradition was established when Honda
Primo and Clio began operations, in that all Verno products had the rear license plate
installed in the rear bumper, while Primo and Clio products had the rear license plate
installed on the trunk lid or rear door for minivans.

30
3.2.3 Honda Verno (2008)

As time progressed and sales began to diminish partly due to the collapse of the
Japanese "bubble economy", "supermini" and "kei" vehicles that were specific to
Honda Primo were "badge engineered" and sold at the other two sales channels, thereby
providing smaller vehicles that sold better at both Honda Verno and Honda Clio
locations. As of March 2006, the three sales chains were discontinued, with the
establishment of Honda Cars dealerships.While the network was disbanded,
someJapanese Honda dealerships still use the network names, offering all Japanese market
Honda cars at all locations.

3.2..4 Honda Wing motorcycle dealership (Japan)

Honda sells genuine accessories through a separate retail chain called Honda Access
for both their motorcycle, scooter and automobile products. In cooperation with corporate
"keiretsu" partner Pioneer, Honda sells an aftermarket line of audio and in-car
navigation equipment that can be installed in any vehicle under the brand name Gathers,
which is available at Honda Access locations as well as Japanese auto parts retailers, such
as Autobacs. Buyers of used vehicles are directed to a specific Honda retail chain that
sells only used vehicles called Honda Auto Terrace.

In the spring of 2012, Honda in Japan introduced Honda Cars Small Store (Japanese)
which is devoted to compact cars like the Honda Fit, and kei vehicles like the Honda N-
One and Honda S660 roadster.

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 CHAPTER - IV

International marketing

A Honda dealership in Ontario, Canada

4.1 A Honda Dealership in Dreghorn, Scotland

In 2003, Honda released its Cog advertisement in the UK and on the Internet. To make
the ad, the engineers at Honda constructed a Rube Goldberg Machine made entirely out
of car parts from a Honda Accord Touring. To the chagrin of the engineers at Honda, all
the parts were taken from two of only six hand-assembled pre-production models of the
Accord. The advertisement depicted a single cog which sets off a chain of events that
ends with the Honda Accord moving and Garrison Keillor speaking the tagline, "Isn't it
nice when things just... work?" It took 606 takes to get it perfect.

In 2004, they produced the Grrr advert, usually immediately followed by a shortened
version of the 2005 Impossible Dream advert. In December 2005, Honda released The
Impossible Dream a two-minute panoramic advertisement filmed in New Zealand, Japan
and Argentina which illustrates the founder's dream to build performance vehicles. While
singing the song "Impossible Dream", a man reaches for his racing helmet, leaves his
trailer on a minibike, then rides a succession of vintage Honda vehicles: a motorcycle,

32
then a car, then a powerboat, then goes over a waterfall only to reappear piloting a hot air
balloon, with Garrison Keillor saying "I couldn't have put it better myself" as the song
ends. The song is from the 1960s musical Man Of La Mancha, sung by Andy Williams.

In 2006, Honda released its Choir advertisement, for the UK and the internet. This had a
60-person choir who sang the car noises as film of the Honda Civic are shown.

In the mid to late 2000s in the United States, during model close-out sales for the current
year before the start of the new model year, Honda's advertising has had an animated
character known simply as Mr. Opportunity, voiced by Rob Paulsen. The casual looking
man talked about various deals offered by Honda and ended with the phrase "I'm Mr.
Opportunity, and I'm knockin'", followed by him "knocking" on the television screen or
"thumping" the speaker at the end of radio ads. In addition, commercials for Honda's
international hatchback, the Jazz, are parodies of well-known pop culture images such
as Tetris and Thomas The Tank Engine.

In late 2006, Honda released an ad with ASIMO exploring a museum, looking at the
exhibits with almost childlike wonderment (spreading out its arms in the aerospace
exhibit, waving hello to an astronaut suit that resembles him, etc.), while Garrison Keillor
ruminates on progress. It concludes with the tagline: "More forwards please". Honda also
sponsored ITV's coverage of Formula One in the UK for 2007. However they had
announced that they would not continue in 2008 due to the sponsorship price requested
by ITV being too high.

In May 2007, focuses on their strengths in racing and the use of the Red H badge – a
symbol of what is termed as "Hondamentalism". The campaign highlights the lengths that
Honda engineers go to in order to get the most out of an engine, whether it is for bikes,
cars, powerboats – even lawnmowers. Honda released its Hondamentalism campaign. In
the TV spot, Garrison Keillor says, "An engineer once said to build something great is
like swimming in honey", while Honda engineers in white suits walk and run towards a
great light, battling strong winds and flying debris, holding on to anything that will keep
them from being blown away. Finally one of the engineers walks towards a red light, his
hand outstretched. A web address is shown for the Hondamentalism website. The
digitalcampaign aims to show how visitors to the site share many of the Hondamentalist
characteristics.
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At the beginning of 2008, Honda released – the Problem Playground. The advert outlines
Honda's environmental responsibility, demonstrating a hybrid engine, more efficient solar
panels and the FCX Clarity, a hydrogen powered car. The 90 second advert has large
scale puzzles, involving Rubik's Cubes, large shapes and a 3-dimensional puzzle. On 29
May 2008, Honda, in partnership with Channel 4, broadcast a live advertisement. It
showed skydivers jumping from an aeroplane over Spain and forming the letters H, O, N,
D and A in mid-air. This live advertisement is generally agreed to be the first of its kind
on British television. The advert lasted three minutes.

In 2009, American Honda released the Dream the Impossible documentary series, a
collection of 5–8 minute web vignettes that focus on the core philosophies of Honda.
Current short films include Failure: The Secret to Success, Kick Out the
Ladder and Mobility 2088. They have Honda employees as well as Danica
Patrick, Christopher Guest, Ben Bova, Chee Pearlman, Joe Johnston and Orson Scott
Card. The film series plays at dreams.honda.com. In the UK, national television ads
feature voice-overs from American radio host Garrison Keillor, while in the US the voice
of Honda commercials is actor and director Fred Savage.

4.2 Sports

The late F1 driver Ayrton Senna stated that Honda probably played the most
significant role in his three world championships. He had immense respect for founder,
Soichiro Honda, and had a good relationship with Nobuhiko Kawamoto, the chairman of
Honda at that time. Senna once called Honda "the greatest company in the world".

As part of its marketing campaign, Honda is an official partner and sponsor of

the National Hockey League, the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL, and the arena named after
it: Honda Center. Honda also sponsors The Honda Classic golf tournament and is a
sponsor of Major League Soccer. The "Honda Player of the Year" award is presented in
United States soccer. The "Honda Sports Award" is given to the best female athlete in
each of twelve college sports in the United States. One of the twelve Honda Sports
Award winners is chosen to receive the Honda-Broderick Cup, as "Collegiate Woman
Athlete of the Year."

34
 Honda sponsored La Liga club Valencia CF starting from 2014–15 season.

Honda has been a presenting sponsor of the Los Angeles Marathon since 2010 in a three-
year sponsorship deal, with winners of the LA Marathon receiving a free Honda Accord.
Since 1989, the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge has been a quizbowl tournament
for Historically black colleges and universities.

4.2.1 Facilities (partial list)

Main article:

List of Honda facilities

4.2.2 Mainstream models

See also: List of Honda motorcycles and List of Honda automobiles
4.2.3 US sales

Calendar year Total US sales

1992 768,845

1993 716,546

1994 788,230

1995 794,579

1996 843,928

1997 940,386

1998 1,009,600

1999 1,076,893

2000 1,158,860

2001 1,207,639

2002 1,247,834

35
2003 1,349,847

2004 1,394,398

2005 1,462,472

2006 1,509,358

2007 1,551,542

2008 1,284,261

2009 1,150,784

2010 1,230,480

2011 1,147,000

2012 1,422,000

2013 1,525,312

2014 1,540,872

2015 1,586,551

2016 1,637,942

4.2.4 Production numbers

Calendar Global
year production

2009 3,012,000

2010 3,643,000

2011 2,909,000

36
 4.2.5 2010 Chinese labor strike

2010 Chinese labor strike happened in Guangqi Honda, Dongfeng Honda.

Japanese Car portal

Tokyo portal

Companies portal

 Comparison of Honda water-pumps

 Honda advanced technology
 Honda Airport

 Honda Battle of the Bands

 Honda G-Con
 Honda F.C., football (soccer) club
 Honda Heat, rugby union club
 Honda Type R
 List of Honda assembly plants
 List of Honda transmissions
 Internavi

4.3 Customer & His Importance

The essence of the marketing concept is that organizations must adopt customer oriented
features and focus their attention of building programs, offering and strategies that satisfy
customer needs and wants. Many organizations maintain their focus on operations or product or
sales efforts and thereby ; get dislocated by mistaking the means for the end. Successful
marketing involves companywide transformations in attitude beliefs and perceptions of the
people in how they view the customer. Deep commitment to the customer is what distinguishes
successful marketers from Laggards.

37
The excellent companies really close to their customers, other companies top about it, excellent
companies really close to their customers, other companies to about it, excellent companies do
it’. The companies, which show extra ordinary concern for the customer, include. American
express, Mc donalds, Citibank, IBM who go to the smallest dealers also “Never forget the
customer’s attitude is the hull mark of their service strategy. Hence Customers are :-

1. The most important people in any business.

2. They are not dependent of a business, But business is dependent on them.
3. They are not an interruption to own work, they are the purpose of it.
4. They are doing us favor when they come in, we are not doing them favor by serving
them.
5. They are part of our business, they are not outsiders.
6. They are not just statistic. The customers are human beings with flesh and blood having
feelings and emotions.
7. People come to us with their needs and wants. It is our job to fulfill them.
8. They are the lifeblood of every business without whom the door of the business would
have been closed.
9. Non customer functions in particular must be made customer oriented. Customer needs
and requirements should be tracked on regular basis.

4.3.1 Customer Satisfaction

Whether the buyer is satisfied after purchase depends upon the offer performance in relation to
the buyer’s expectations. Customer satisfaction can be defined as :-
Satisfaction is the level of a person’s felt state resulting from comparing a product’s perceived
performance in relation to the person’s expectation’s satisfaction level is a function of the
different between perceived performance and expectations some of the successful business
firms are aiming for total Customer Satisfaction which increase customer loyalty towards the
product or service offered by the firm.

38
4.3.2 Importance Of Customer Satisfaction Mission And

Purpose Of Business:

The need to satisfy customer for achieving success in any commercial enterprise is so obvious,
one wonder if there is any need to establish the importance of customer satisfaction. However
one often finds that what should be obvious everyone also needs to be explained and establish.
The income of commercial enterprise is derived from the payment received for the products and
services supplied to its external customers. If there are no customers, there is no income, there
is no business. In other words, customers are the sole reason for the existence of commercial
establishments, as the function is extremely important for the success of the organization, the
senior management as well as the leaders of other departments or Divisions should also realize
the importance of customers to the organization and for its growth. It is therefore no surprise
that Peter Drucket, the renowned management guru said “ to satisfy the customer is the mission
and purpose of every business :.

4.3.3 Customer Satisfaction Process

Companies seeking to win in today’s market must track their customer’s expectations
perceived company performance and customer satisfaction not only for them but for their
competitions as well.
Brand loyalty and Customers satisfaction on the other hand are almost synonymous and
their impact on market share is statistically varifiable. The relationship between market
share profitability as well as profitability and share holder value creation have been the
subject of considerable research over the years and the linkages have been proven many
times.

39
 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

Honda is committed to further advancing powertrain technologies in order to offer new

products and technologies that satisfy growing demand from customers around the world for
high fuel efficiency and to achieve more environmentally-friendly mobility that more people
can enjoy. Honda will continue to dedicate company resources to the creation of new
technologies. Honda will also continue making capital investments proactively to strengthen the
flexibility and efficiency of its global production network.

Setting customer satisfaction as our number one priority, Honda strives to provide the
joy of mobility to even more customers through the introduction of new technologies and new
products. When this is achieved, our sales should reach approximately 16 million units for
motorcycles, approximately 4 million units for automobiles, and approximately 6.5 million
units for power products by the end of the 9th Mid-term. In terms of sales revenue, this will
exceed 10 trillion yen.

Through all of these efforts, Honda’s goal is to be a company that society wants to exist, to
pursue the joy of mobility, and to extend this joy to more customers and to future generations.

40
 ANALYSIS
Analysis of Honda Motor Company Ltd. A complete and comprehensive analysis of Honda
Motor Company Ltd, includes an overview of the industry the company operates in, a PEST
Framework Analysis of the industry, and then moves on to analyzing the company itself.

Company analysis includes a history of Honda Motor Company Ltd, a business segment
analysis of the segments Honda Motor Company Ltd operates through, a look at the
organization structure of the company, a geographical operating segments analysis, an analysis
ofthe company’s major competitors.

A financial analysis of Honda Motor Company Ltd is presented in the report which includes a
ratio analysis, basic profit and loss analysis, presentation of the company balance sheet, and
much more.

41