HONDA MALAYSIA TARGETS 85,000 SALES UNITS IN 2015

• Honda Malaysia achieved 77,485 sales units in 2014, 50% year-on-year growth 
• Total Industry Volume (TIV) is anticipated at 697,000 units for 2015 with a 4.5% year-on-year growth

Following a highly successful 2014, Honda Malaysia aims to increase its market share to more than 12% in 2015 with a sales target of 85,000 units. With an anticipated year-on-year growth of 4.5% to 697,000 units for the TIV in 2015, Honda Malaysia is confident of achieving its sales target by continuing to strengthen its mid-term strategy here in Malaysia



This challenging target for 2015 rides on the back of an outstanding year in 2014 where Honda Malaysia exceeded its sales target of 76,000 units to achieve 77,485 units. The success of 2014 translated to an increase in market share to an estimated 11.6% against the estimated 2014 TIV of 667,000 units. This was an increase of 3.7 points from the 7.9% that Honda Malaysia achieved in 2013. The strong sales in 2014 was a great achievement, and by doing so Honda Malaysia also took the No. 1 position in the Non-National Passenger Vehicle segment for the first time in its history.

Honda Malaysia Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno said, "This success was made possible with the support and trust in the brand from Malaysian customers."

"Three years ago, Honda Malaysia set a mid-term strategy to elevate our business to 100,000 units and started our preparation for enhancing the competitiveness of our products, increasing production capacity and expanding our dealer network," Mr. Ueno said.

These combined efforts resulted in the successful launch of fresh, entry models to meet market demands - the All-New City and All-New Jazz, which received great response from the market and contributed nearly 70% of Honda's sales last year. Since its launch in March, and until December, the City became the best-selling model in the Non-National B-segment, whereas the Jazz, led the Non-National Hatchback segment. At the same time, the CR-V and Accord also continued to be the best-selling models in their respective segments.

In cementing its stronghold in the market and realising competitive pricing, Honda Malaysia increased its production capacity with the opening of the No. 2 Line in Malacca. This in turn allowed Honda Malaysia to meet the anticipated increase in sales with a shorter product-to-market time with the ability to produce 100,000 units per year.

Honda Malaysia plans to build on the momentum into 2015 by continuing to excite customers with quality products, exciting new models, efficient product-to-market time and excellent services.

Despite offering affordable value-for-money vehicles, safety has always been a priority for Honda. All Honda Malaysia models come fitted with advanced safety features that meet international standards. This emphasis on safety is attested by the numerous safety awards that Honda models has been recognised with.

Some of the safety awards under Honda Malaysia?s belt include an award for Safety Technology for its LaneWatch feature and five awards in Crash Worthiness Performance at the First ASEAN NCAP Grand Prix. Notable wins include the CR-V being named the safest SUV and the All-New City named the Overall Winner for the Adult Occupant Protection (AOP). All current models sold in Malaysia that have been tested by the ASEAN NCAP, have been awarded 5-star rating.

As it continues to grow its sales in Malaysia, Honda supports its customers with an expanding network of dealers nationwide. Currently, there are 77 dealers in Malaysia. Honda Malaysia is targeting to have 90 dealers by 2016 and also increase the number of Body and Paint Centres to 18.

Honda Malaysia believes that 2015 will be a year of tough competition and rapid market movements, and is ready to challenge itself to maintain the momentum from 2014.

VIDEO : Honda Malaysia's presentation at the KLIMS 2013

This is the video of Honda Malaysia's presentation at the KLIMS 2013 during their media presentation on Nov 14th 2013 which is the preview and media day of the event. The video starts a little bit after the beginning where the formalities are and covers all the displays at the Honda Malaysia booth plus the presentation for the launch of the new 5G Honda Odyssey for Malaysia.

2013 KLIMS Coverage : Honda Malaysia Booth

Finally I have the time to begin my coverage of the 2013 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show which began yesterday (Nov 15th 2013) at the Putra World Trade Center and will run for another 8 days until November 24th. As expected, I begin my coverage by looking at the Honda Malaysia booth.

The photo above is a panoramic shot of the Honda booth. For this show, Honda's official press release says that they are showcasing their latest 'Advanced, Everyday, Efficient' technologies. A total of 5 vehicles are on display at the spacious booth so there will be plenty of space to move around. The 5 vehicles covers a nice mixture of niche and mainstream - new models, enthusiasts, motorsports, future technologies.

The centerpiece of the show is the new EV-STER concept car, a slightly larger than K-car sports convertible, a modern day Honda Beat. Hardcore Honda fans will know by now that this concept car has now grown to become the new S660 sports convertible which Honda will launch in the near future (it is being shown at this year's Tokyo Motor Show). The EV-STER provides a nice glimpse into an enthusiast-centric, future model from Honda. 

However, the 'star' of the Honda Booth is the new 5th generation Odyssey which Honda Malaysia is launching here, barely two weeks after it's world premier launch in Japan. This is of course what is hidden behind the curtains at the center of the panoramic shot above (of course the display structure itself is already a giveaway). We will provide details of the new Malaysian market 5th Gen Odyssey in another article later.

In between the EV-STER and the Odyssey is the Mugen CR-Z RR (or Honda CR-Z Mugen RR as Honda Malaysia prefers it to be called). This is the actual vehicle from Mugen (M-TEC) in Japan, shipped down specially for this show. I had tried to take close up photos of the car thinking to prepare a nice article about it but was rejected when I asked to open the bonnet/hood. Reason given was that the car was on loan from Mugen/M-TEC and if they gave me the preference to open the bonnet/hood, then everyone will want to do that. So, sorry, no special coverage of this well known car. However, towards the closing of the show, I happened to try the doors of the car and found they were unlocked so I did take a few photos of it close up. The photos will be published later.

On the other side of the Odyssey booth is the HMRT (Honda Malaysia Racing Team) Honda Jazz (Fit) that competed in the S1K or the Malaysian Sepang 1000km endurance race, Honda Malaysia's exhibit for the motorsports arena. HMRT originally built two cars for the competition, using standard chassis from the factory. The actual builders of the cars were a mixture of a local tuning shop and Honda Malaysia staff. The engines powering both cars are surprisingly the original '1st Gen' L15A, i.e. using the 12V-16V SOHC i-VTEC system. Why chose this over the (very) slightly more performance oriented '2nd Gen' L15A which is full 16V with a normal and hot cam profile on the intake side ? Thanks to the fact that one of the tuners is a friend, I was told that the 2nd gen L15A is less 'tuneable' due to its integrated header (i.e. header is built into the cylinder head with provision for the attachment of the catalytic converter directly onto it) whilst the 1st gen L15A can be fitted with a specially designed race header. So there is more avenue for tuning with the 1st gen. I understand the valve train was modified and the 12V-16V system was (as expected) no longer used. ECU used is Mugen and tuned by Mugen engineers, fine-tuned on the Sepang race track itself.

One engine was built by Mugen and the other built by the local tuning shop. In absolute terms, seasoned Honda fans will know that the power potential of the LSeries engine is rather limited when in NA mode. Still the car delivered reasonable results in its first outing at the S1K last year. However I do not know the details of this year's entries as I did not participate in any of the PR events from HMRT.

The final vehicle on display is the full electric Honda Accord PHEV, the new 9Gen plug-in electric Accord. For Honda, this car represents the future as we move away from total dependence on fossil fuel to 'renewable' sources of energy. To complement this futuristic display, Honda also has their 'Honda Smart Home System' (HSHS) which is Honda's vision of a comprehensive energy management system for the future household. 

In follow-up articles, we will provide first an overview of KLIMS itself, followed by coverage of selected booths from other manufacturers. In the meantime, more photos of Honda's exhibits will be gradually uploaded to our TOVA Facebook page over the next few days.

Honda CR-V 2.4

In the CR-V media drive event, Honda Malaysia confirms that the 4G CR-V 2.4 is on-time for a June launch this year. It is packaged as an upmarket, luxury oriented CR-V and also targeted at those who wants more performance from the CR-V which the current 2.0l version is unable to deliver. Expect full leather interior with hopefully more control over the powerplant to better make use of its greater power, e.g. either a 'Sport' mode or the addition of a sequential shifting option via paddle shifters on the steering wheel. It should be using the same K24 engine that will be put into the new 9G 2.4 Accord when that is launched in the next quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, the current 2.0l variant has delighted Honda Malaysia by far exceeding its sales forecast, almost hitting 3,000 orders within a month of its launch. It also set a new record for highest number of bookings received in a month for any new model launch. This confirms the excellence of this world standard setting SUV and the 2.4l variant should improve it.

9G Accord for next quarter launch

Malaysian Honda fans who are waiting for the new 9Gen Honda Accord, it looks like you have to wait a little bit longer as it will not be launched this quarter. It will be a Honda however, and is highly unlikely to be carrying a different badge.

TIME TO FREED! HONDA MALAYSIA DEBUTS THE NEW FREED IN MALAYSIA.

Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd today introduced the New Freed in Malaysia. This Best Urban MPV adopts Honda’s innovative technology that offers spaciousness, stylish design, advanced features and quality. The New Freed enhances both driver’s and passengers’ comfort with its practicality, improved features, interior and exterior design. These transformations make the improved version of Freed an even ideal car for young professional urban families, who aspire for a quality lifestyle.

Honda Malaysia Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno said, “We are pleased to introduce the New Freed, which is a product that maximizes the joy of driving for Malaysian motorists. The latest Freed is a Completely Build-Up (CBU) unit from Indonesia. To-date, Honda Malaysia has sold over 2,500 units of Freed since its launch.”

The transformed Freed features a number of enhancements that cater to young professional urban families or professionals who appreciate spending time with family and friends, and also enjoy outdoor living. It comes with 5-speed auto transmission powered by 1.5L i-VTEC engine that promises fuel efficiency with lower gravity and stable run.

Providing premium comfort to both driver and passengers, the Grade E Freed is equipped with plush leather seats while the introduction of armrest on both sides are available in both Grade E and Grade S. The driver’s seat height adjuster further emphasizes comfort based on individual preference. The extraordinary feature of the Freed is its unique flat floor design for passengers to move easily in the car. Cargo loading and unloading is also made more convenient with the low tailgate opening.

Other features of the New Freed are as follow:

Exterior	Interior	Utility
·      Chrome Front Grille ·      Chrome Rear License Plate Garnish ·      Stylish Front Bumper ·      Sporty 15” Alloy Wheels	·      Dual Layer Dashboard with Chrome Plating ·      New Coloured Multi Layer Meter Cluster	·      Automatic Sliding Doors with Remote Control* ·      Walkthrough Cabin ·      Third Row Foldable Seats

Safety features that are available in this stylish Honda Freed MPV: dual front SRS airbags, 6-Star Japanese New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP), G-Force Control Technology (G-Con), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) and Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS).

The New Honda Freed family car comes in two variants: Grade S and Grade E. The Grade S is available in Brilliant White Pearl, Polished Metal Metallic and Crystal Black Pearl, whereas Grade E comes in Brilliant White Pearl.

Honda Malaysia offers 5 years or sixty (60) months warranty with unlimited mileage, from the date of registration. This unlimited mileage warranty is applicable only when regular preventive maintenance is performed as per required intervals. Customers are also entitled to a Free Service Coupon (FSC) to enjoy up to six times of free labour charge during service. The FSC coupon is applicable for the 1,000km; 10,000km; 30,000km; 50,000km; 70,000km and 90,000km mileage service.

The Best Urban MPV Honda Freed offers a complete package of premium comfort, spacious cabin and best utility for the best quality travel experiences to owners. The on-the-road price of Freed S is RM 99,800 and Freed E is priced at RM 113,500.

It is time to Freed! Customers can test drive and place their booking for this latest Best Urban MPV at any authorized Honda dealers nationwide. For more information, please call Honda Toll Free number at 1-800-88-2020, or log on to www.honda.com.my.

Honda Malaysia (Sales and Marketing) moved office

Honda Malaysia's sales and marketing division has shifted from their old office to CP Tower along the Sprint Highway.

Tenaga Setia Resource, Honda's 4S dealer shifts to new premises

TENAGA SETIA RESOURCES SDN. BHD. INVESTS RM28.5 MILLION TO RELOCATE AND UPGRADE HONDA DEALERSHIP TO 4S CENTRE

Tenaga Setia has been a Honda 3S center for many years and was located along Jalan 222 Petaling Jaya. After investing RM28.5 million building a new premise, they shifted over last Friday (Sept 28th) and at the same time, also upgraded themselves into a 4S centre. The new premise is now located at section 51 which in actually just a short distance (less than 1km) from the original site. This new premise is a newly constructed building located on a prime piece of land which belongs to Tenaga Setia themselves.



A Honda '4S' centre add the ability of 'body knock and spray painting' - i.e. repair of cars that had been involved in an accident. This is Honda's latest move to enable a complete 'one-stop' centre for its customers, right from pre-sales to complete after-sales. It is an essential component of Honda Malaysia’s policy of prioritising customer satisfaction while creating an enjoyable ownership experience for customers. Honda believes that a life-long relationship with the customer is forged when a purchase is made. 

“The upgraded and expanded Honda 4S centre is truly a one-stop centre. Our aim is to provide quality services and products to our customers. We also want to ensure that our customers are happy, comfortable and satisfied when they visit our centre every time. The new building now has a bigger area for operations and customers parking. With this new 115,853 square feet 4S Centre, our customers can look forward to an improved Honda experience,” said Mr. Yeap Swee Chuan, Managing Director of Tenaga Setia Resources Sdn. Bhd.

Some interesting facts of the 'new' Tenaga Setia is the service floor which can service up to 26 cars concurrently. There is also a multi-storey car-park which is crucial as parking around the new building is very congested with the risk of getting a summon if one is to park at the side of the road. For those who have to leave their car overnight, Tenaga Setia also says they have one 'courtesy car' which they can loan to the customer, with provisions for getting more according to a case by case basis. 

The waiting area includes a kid's play area, to help keep the little ones pre-occupied in the event they need to be brought along to wait for service to be completed. In line with the offering of body-knock and paint services, there are also three insurance claim counters in the service reception area.

The opening was also spiced up with the involvement of the local CR-Z owners group which had a 'gathering' of several of their cars in the service center.


The official opening ceremony was attended by Honda Malaysia Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno who was the guest-of-honour, and also from many working partners and long-time customers of Tenaga Setia Resources Sdn. Bhd. In his congratulatory speech, Mr. Ueno said, “The upgrade, expansion and relocation of Tenaga Setia Resources to this new, spacious and strategic location shows their dedication to constantly improve in order to better serve their customers in the Klang Valley. I commend Tenaga Setia Resources for the efforts that have been put to improve the facilities and to incorporate a body and paint centre. On behalf of Honda Malaysia, I would like to thank Tenaga Setia Resources for their commitment towards Honda.”

Since its establishment, Honda Malaysia has been working closely with its dealers to improve their services by acquiring a 3S or 4S status that provides a total package of service and convenience to customers nationwide. To date, there are a total of 61 Honda Dealers around Malaysia, 56 of which operate as Honda 3S Centres while 5 of them have been upgraded to 4S Centres.

For appointment and operating hours, customers can contact Tenaga Setia Resources at 03–7784 8211 (Sales), 03-7784 8311 (Service) and 03-7784 8511 (Body and Painting) or log on to www.honda.com.my for more information.

Honda expands Malaysia assembly plant (official press release)

HONDA MALAYSIA TO BE THE FIRST NON-NATIONAL MANUFACTURER TO PRODUCE HYBRID VEHICLES LOCALLY

•          Honda Malaysia expands its factory with an investment of RM350 million

•          Honda Malaysia to start rolling out hybrid vehicles by the end of this year; this move reaffirms Honda Malaysia’s leadership in being the pioneer of hybrid technology in Malaysia

•          Total production capacity will increase to 100,000 units annually and 800 units daily when No. 2 Line completes in Q4 2013

Malacca, 19 July 2012 – Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd today announced that it would be producing hybrid vehicles locally. The announcement was made by Mr. Hiroshi Kobayashi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd. at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of its No. 2 Line at Honda’s Pegoh Plant in Alor Gajah, Malacca. When the first hybrid rolls out of its plant later this year, Honda will become the first non-national automotive manufacturer in Malaysia to locally produce hybrid vehicles. Currently, Honda produces its hybrid vehicles only in Japan and the US.

The historic ceremony was graced by guests-of-honour, Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali bin Mohd Rustam, Chief Minister of Malacca and Dato’ Sri Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

In his welcome speech, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia lauded the support by the Malaysian government in promoting green technology among industry players. “Honda’s growth and strong presence here in Malaysia would not have been possible without the partnership and support of the government and people of Malaysia. We have nurtured a strong working relationship with the government, our suppliers, dealers and customers. I would like to reiterate our firm commitment towards our business here in Malaysia as we strive to become a company that Malaysians would be proud to have in this country.”

Honda Malaysia has been manufacturing vehicles locally since 2003. The expansion of its production line to manufacture hybrid models is a natural progression in line with the increasing demand for advanced, clean and fuel-efficient vehicles in Malaysia.

Mr. Kobayashi shared his joy to be able to participate in this significant event. “We will start local production of the Jazz Hybrid at the Malacca Plant by the end of this year. Due to Asia’s fast growth and diverse markets, Honda will accelerate efforts throughout our regional operations to achieve Honda’s 2020 vision. Southeast Asia in particular holds a very important position for Honda’s global business. With a huge population, strong GDP growth and spending power, the demand for passenger vehicles in this region has grown tremendously in the past 10 years. We want to keep on creating products that maximize the joy of our customers, with speed, affordability and low CO²emissions in these markets.”

Honda is the pioneer in bringing hybrid technology to Malaysia, introducing the first hybrid vehicle to Malaysians back in 2007. With the move to produce hybrid vehicles locally, Honda is once again leading the way in the introduction of higher value technologies to Malaysians.

Honda Malaysia is investing RM350 million for the expansion, which includes building, equipment and facilities. The new No.2 Line is scheduled to begin operations by the fourth quarter of 2013 and will be able to produce 100,000 units annually. When both the production lines are up and running, Honda Malaysia will be able to produce up to 800 vehicles per day, double its current output.

Hybrid vehicles will be produced at its No. 1 Line while the new No. 2 Line is specially built to increase Honda’s ability to meet the Malaysian market demand for compact vehicles. Both the current and the new No. 2 Line will have the capability to produce multiple models and to quickly and efficiently shift production as required. In pursuit of Honda’s “Green Factory” concept, the No.2 line will continue to adopt a more efficient and environment friendly manufacturing operation.

The expanded factory will occupy a total space of 8.48 million square metres when it is completed; almost double the 4.32 million square metres of its current size. Mr. Ueno continued, “With this expanded factory, we are making investments to bring in state-of-the-art technologies as well as other investments. There will also be a transferring of technology such as with the installation of the latest state-of-the-art General Welding equipment. This is a demonstration of our commitment to continue providing products of the highest quality to our customers in Malaysia, which is reflected in our achievement of the No.1 ranking in the Initial Quality Study (IQS) award for the past 5 consecutive years.”

Mr. Ueno added that this investment would also be able to create more jobs for Malaysians. When the expansion at the Malacca Plant is completed and begins full operations next year, Honda Malaysia expects to employ 700 new associates.

Honda Malaysia believes that cost competitiveness is critical to success in this country. Together with its plant expansion, it is also widening its local supplier network to increase the parts content sourced in Malaysia. Currently, Honda Malaysia sources about 40% of the completely knocked-down (CKD) vehicles components locally and plan to further increase the local content.

The expanded Pegoh Plant in Malacca will assemble (CKD) models such as the City, Civic, Accord, CR-V and the first hybrid model, the Jazz Hybrid.

The expanded factory is complemented by the recently built RM40 million Pre-Delivery Inspection Centre (PDI) and Vehicle Quality Test Course which was commissioned on 7 July 2012. The new Vehicle Quality Test Course is designed with different dynamic testing zones and road conditions, which will be able to fully test two new vehicles per session. Earlier this year, Honda Malaysia officially opened their new warehouse to provide better support to its dealers.

Mr. Ueno added that parallel to the expansion and introduction of new models, Honda Malaysia is also looking to increase its dealer network throughout Malaysia, to up to 90 dealers by the end of 2015.

With the newly expanded factory, Honda Malaysia reaffirms its commitment to deliver its products on time and continue to excite Malaysians with an exciting line up of advanced models, for both the petrol and hybrid range.