And he gave the remodeled Civic as an example of a Honda-like product.
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Hachigo stated that “Honda will continue to be firmly committed to the creation of “challenging products” unique to Honda'”. However, with CEO Hachigo wishing to make sure that employees have enough time to develop strong products, the market release of Honda EV, FCEV and the expansion of 2 and 3 motor hybrid systems throughout the line may be delayed, just a bit as the corporate shake-out dust settles.
He noted he has tried to listen to workers on the ground, and that’s critical in doing product development correctly, he said. Furthermore, core global Honda models – the CR-V and Accord – will undergo full model changes in the future to make them more attractive vehicles that feature more new technologies, higher competitiveness and innovative designs. Mr. Hachigo’s predecessor, Takanobu Ito, who took over as CEO in 2009, had set out to almost double Honda’s annual auto sales to six million vehicles over five years by the fiscal year ending March 2017. That would result in more time for engineers to do their work, he said. For the Honda fan, no worries, Honda’s not going anywhere, and frankly in North America, Honda’s largest market, sales numbers remain in positive territory as American Honda and Acura Division consistently present quality, well-priced cars and light trucks.
Hachigo also said Honda began building cars in Africa this month by retooling part of a factory in Nigeria that previously made motorcycles.
Mr. Hachigo said that when he was an engineer involved in vehicle development, including the US version of the popular Odyssey minivan, he learned the importance of sharing goals among multinational team members. Making “more efficient use” of its overseas plants will be “key to Honda’s recovery”, he said.
In one such deals, the Japanese firm already has an alliance with General Motors Co, to develop hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
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Hachigo shared plans to move around its manufacturing operations for efficiency with some models to be built closer to where these will be sold. In the Takata air bag safety scare regulators have linked eight deaths to the component, all in cars made by Honda.
