AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)08/03 Report--

On Aug. 3, Honda China announced terminal car sales in July. According to the data, Honda's cumulative terminal car sales in China in July were 89691, down 32.84% from a year earlier. Honda's terminal car sales in China from January to July were 619382, down 23.80% from a year earlier.

From January to July this year, Honda's China terminal car sales were 64193, 74142, 82041, 94879, 101321, 113133 and 89,691 respectively. In terms of sales data, Honda's sales in China increased month by month in the first six months, but declined in July. Although Honda officials did not explain the reasons for the decline in sales, the decline in Honda sales in China is blamed on "fuel cars are difficult to sell and electric cars are not popular."

In 2022, Honda launched a number of new models in China, including two pure electric models, the e:NP1/e:NS1, which are part of the EVOR N brand, but the market sales of these two models have been sluggish since their launch.

For Honda, it is urgent to complete the transition to a new energy market as soon as possible. On July 16, Dongfeng Honda, which is facing declining sales, put forward a more radical electric transformation plan. Dongfeng Honda announced that in the second half of this year, Dongfeng Honda will launch its new pure electric brand, which will reach more than 50% by 2025, will no longer launch new fuel cars after 2027, and will launch more than 10 pure electric models by 2030. When Dongfeng Honda's new energy layout is further improved, it will compete directly with BYD. This also means that Dongfeng Honda fuel cars will be sold until 2027.

It should be noted that the Honda e:NS1 is the only pure electric model Dongfeng Honda is selling and its sales performance is very mediocre, while the e:NS2, the next pure electric model targeting the medium-sized pure electric SUV, will not be available until 2024. Dongfeng Honda sold 608,924,883,131,181,155 e:NS1 vehicles respectively in the first half of this year, with cumulative sales of 2882 vehicles, according to retail data from the Federation. Honda's other joint venture in China, Guangzhou Auto Honda, also offers the e:NP1 Jupai 1 all-electric model, but sales are also poor. Data show that from January to June this year, e:NP1 sales were 102,44,554,404,913 and 1347 respectively, with a cumulative sales of 3364 vehicles.

Obviously, it is very difficult for both e:NS1 and e:NP1 to bear the responsibility of Honda's sales in China. At present, Honda's sales in China are still dominated by traditional fuel cars. in the first half of the year, for example, Honda's top three models in China were Accord, CR-V and Civic, with sales of 94400, 78100 and 52700 respectively. Plug-in hybrid models, March 10, the new CR-V e:PHEV launch, the new car equipped with the fourth generation i-MMD dual-motor hybrid technology, the current price range of 22.59-269900 yuan. In addition, Accord, Haoying and Yingshi have also launched plug-in hybrid models, of which Yingshi plug-in hybrid models have been replaced in the near future. On July 3, the new elite school officially went on the market. The new car has launched a total of 6 models with a price range of 18.28-258800 yuan, with 1.5T fuel version and 2.0L + motor e:PHEV plug-in mixed version, and upgraded Honda CONNECT 4.0 intelligence guide interconnection, Honda SENSING 360security super-sense, but the car market sales performance is also very general. Data show that CR-V e:PHEV sales in the first half of the year were 3581, while Haoying e:PHEV was 2812. Compared with other plug-in hybrid models in China, Honda plug-in hybrid models have no advantage in price and are not competitive in products.

From the timing of Dongfeng Honda's transformation, it is still very confident in the radical electric vehicle planning, but at present, the market share of fuel vehicles is squeezed by new energy, and Honda's new energy transformation is not smooth, resulting in a continuous decline in Honda's market share. On the other hand, independent brands are rising rapidly, including BYD, Geely and other independent brand car companies are making continuous efforts in the field of new energy electrification, industry insiders predict that Chinese local brands will have the opportunity to surpass overseas brands in market share this year. It is clear that Honda China has also realized that if it wants to go further, relying solely on fuel cars is not a long-term solution and needs to accelerate the transition to a new energy market.

According to Honda's development plan, after 2027, all Honda models launched in China will be hybrid and pure electric vehicles, and will no longer launch new pure fuel models. By 2035, Honda China will account for 100% of pure electric vehicle sales. Honda China had previously said it would have to advance its electrification process in the context of the rapid growth of new energy vehicles as it said it would sell only pure electric and hybrid models in the Chinese market from 2030.

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