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Is the Japanese car really off the altar? According to the latest release from Honda China, terminal car sales in China from January to February 2023 were 138332, down 45.2% from a year earlier, including 56.2% to 64193 in January and 30.1% to 74142 in February.

According to the specific joint venture, GAC Honda terminal car sales from January to February in 2023 were 76113, of which February sales fell 30.0% year-on-year to 35829; Dongfeng Honda terminal vehicle sales were 62219, of which February sales fell 30.2% to 38313.

It is unthinkable that Honda's terminal car sales in China have fallen sharply again. If the sharp decline in sales in January is due to the impact of the Lunar New year holiday, it should have bottomed out in February, but this time Honda China has no longer released the reasons for the decline in sales, and the impact of the epidemic and supply chain shortages have been difficult to be recognized by the public. It has to be suspected that there may be all-round problems with Honda's brands and products in China, leading to a continuous decline in sales, while external factors are just catalysts. According to Automotive Industry concern, terminal sales of Honda in China have declined for six consecutive months compared with the same period last year.

The decline in Honda sales in China is blamed on its "enigmatic speed" in the new energy sector. In a sense, this is indeed a major factor affecting sales. In 2022, Honda launched a number of new models in China, including the e:NP1/e:NS1, two pure electric models under the EVOR N brand, but without exception, the monthly sales of these two models remained at three digits, almost negligible compared with other traditional independent new energy brands.

The high price and the uncompetitive product power in the same level are the main reasons for the unsatisfactory performance of e:NP1/e:NS1. From the product point of view, the e:NP1/e:NS1 is a sister model, the price is 17.5-218000 yuan, positioning small pure electric SUV, and this price can basically buy Biadizon, Xiaopeng G3, Ian AION Y and other compact SUV.

Electric cars are not popular, and Honda fuel cars seem to be getting harder to sell. 2022 is the product year of Honda in China, including brand-new CR-V, new Haoying, new-generation XR-V, new-generation colorful wisdom, ZR-V Zhijia and other models, but a series of new products have not led to the growth of Honda sales. Data show that Honda terminal sales in China in 2022 were 1373122 vehicles, down 12.1% from the same period last year.

According to Automotive Industry concern, the most fundamental reason for the decline in Honda sales in China lies in the lack of new models and the sharp increase in competitive pressure in China's auto market.

In fact, whether it is a new CR-V, a new Haoying or a new generation of XR-V, a new generation of colorful wisdom, the biggest change of these models is only the appearance, and the most critical power system is basically the same as the old model, or even retrogression, which is obviously not desirable in the fuel car market. In addition, in the intelligent era, Honda models do not have the intelligent configuration, such as the latest Honda CONNECT 3.0 system, in fact, there is not much advantage in the current market.

This year, a new generation of Accord will be introduced to the market, this model is the sales of Honda in China, and from the existing information, although it is a new generation of models, but also only for the appearance of the update, the power system is basically the same as the cash. Of course, the advantages and disadvantages of this change are both advantages and disadvantages. The good thing is that the market can be stabilized, and the core components are not updated to avoid greater defects, while the bad part is the sharp decline in product competitiveness, especially in the context of the extreme annual volume of new energy vehicles. Joint venture fuel vehicles are retreating if they are not aggressive.

On January 30th, Honda China officially announced that in order to speed up the electrification of products in the Chinese market, they intend to merge Honda Technology Research Technology (China) Co., Ltd. (HMCT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda China, with Honda production Technology (China) Co., Ltd. (EGCH). After that, the business of EGCH will be handled by Honda Technology (China) Co., Ltd. manufacturing technology Guangzhou branch.

Data show that HMCT was established in November 2013, mainly responsible for Honda China automotive strategic planning, production strategic planning, automotive research and development, as well as procurement strategic planning and other business. Founded in July 2004, EGCH is mainly engaged in research and development in the field of production technology, design, manufacture and assembly of production equipment, and provides technical support to Honda production bases in China. The two companies have made great contributions to Honda's successful development of the Chinese market, and its importance is self-evident.

However, with the development of the new energy vehicle market, this management structure, which was born in the era of fuel vehicles, has not brought much help to Honda's electrified transformation, so Honda intends to combine the two to save operating costs and improve efficiency. At the same time, Honda will also integrate resources, set up a new electric development headquarters, and change Honda's current market division from the previous "six regions" to "three regions", namely North America, China and other regions.

In terms of personnel, the current Honda China Minister Katsushi Inoue will step down on April 1, 2023 and will take up the post of Honda Executive Service and Minister of Electric Development. This position will be replaced by Igarashi Fumihiko Accord, Honda Executive Service member and Minister of Asia and Oceania, colleague and General Manager of Honda Technology Research Industry (China) Investment Co., Ltd.

There is no problem with Inoue's ability to win history. He joined Honda as early as 1986. With his rich management experience, he also held multiple roles in 2016 and eventually became China's regional minister in 2020. Honda may have realized that Honda's difficulties in China are caused by slow electrification, so he pushed Inoue to the Electric Industry Development Department to get Honda's electric business back on track as soon as possible.

At present, great changes have taken place in China's automobile market, with the development of new energy in full swing. BYD, Geely, Volkswagen and many new car-building brands continue to make efforts in the field of electrification of new energy. continue to improve the user experience in the three electricity system, battery life and intelligence, while Japanese brands are too cautious in the development of electrification, leaving Honda with few opportunities.

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