Honda ko hamesha ek "engineera wali company" maana gaya hai, jahan decisions kaafi strong or meaningful hote the. Maybe ab unhe wapas wahi approach adopt karni pade, because unhone decide kiya hai kiya hai ki Honda R&D department ko phir se seprate reinstate kiya jaye. Ye decision tab aaya jab unke CEO or president, Toshihiro Mibe, Feruary ke end mein Shanghai ke ek factory visit karke aaye.
Honda China mein Dongfeng or GAC ke saath partnership mein hai, jahan wo petrol/diesel (combustion engine) wali cars bhi banata hai or electric cars bhi.
Jaise ek SUV hai eNy1 (name thoda tongue twister hai), woh bhi isi partnership se aayi hai. Isi tarah e:NS2 bhi hai, wahi electric car jise baad mein Japan mein launch karne ka decision liya gaya, but name change karke Honda Insight rakh diya gaya (jo unki first hybrid car ka name bhi tha).
Honda faces a harsh reality in China
Jab Mibe apne ek supplier ke factory visit pe gaye (jo china mein Tesla jaise competitors ko bhi supply karta hai), toh unhone ek kaafi shocking cheez dekhi. Puri factory completely automated thi, sirf robots kaam kar rahe the, ek bhi human nahi. Aur yehi ek bada reason hai ki China itni fast speed se new models bana leta hai, ki Japanese, European or American companies kaafi peeche reh jaati hai.
Chinese manufacturers ek bilkul new car ko European ya Japanese companies ke comparison mein half time mein develop kar lete hai, bas 18 se 24 months lagte hai. Isse development cost mein bhi kaafi difference aa jata hai. Interestingly, itna hi time Renault ne claim kiya hai apni new Twingo E-Tech banane mein laga. Yeh koi coincidence nahi hai, because is French brand ki small city car ko China ke unke R&D center support mila tha.
A complex situation in the largest and most dynamic market
Other Japanese companies jaise Toyota or Nissan bhi China mein partnership kar chuki hai so that ye new tech advancements ka benefit utha sakein. Nissan ne Dongfeng Motor Corporation ke saath tie-up kiya hai, whereas Toyota GAC Group ke saath partnered hai, or interestingly, yahi dono companies hai jin ke saath Honda ke bhi connections or joint venture hai. GAC Honda ne toh China mein apni prsence 1998 mein hi establish kar li thi.
Image Courtesy: Motor.es
China mein Honda last 5 years se continuously down chal rahi hai, because wahan ke customers ab mostly pure Chinese brands ki cars lene perfer kar rahe hai (waise bhi unki daily use ki almost sab cheezein unke khud ke desh se hi aati hai, bas kuch high-end imported German cars ko chhod ke).
Last year unhone around 6.4 lakh new vehicles register kiye, jo 2014 ke comparison mein around 24% kam hai. Rather Nissan bhi down ho gayi, about 6% tak (Whereas 2014 mein 12% tha). But Toyota ne China jaise big market mein apni performance thodi improve kar li.
Honda is now increasingly focusing on Inida
"Humare paas koi chance hi nahi hai," Mibe ne bola jab unhone Shaghai plant ki automated working dekhi, Nikkei Asia ke according. This year brand ke expectations or bhi low hai, sales maybe 600,000 units se bhi low ja sakti hai. Unka plan tha ki China mein ek new brand launch karein jo sirf electric vehicles pe focus kare, but unhe lagta hai ki wo bhi unke targets achieve nahi kar payega.
Honda ko China ka market ab thoda hostile lagne laga hai. Actually, ye un brands mein se hai jo ab apna focus India shift kar rahe hai. India mein Honda 0 series aayegi, jisme Honda 0 α SUV dekhne ko milegi, basically ek small version hoga so that more affordable ho, Indian market ki reality ke according.
Honda 0 SUV ki production is year start hone wali thi, but ab aisa nahi hone wala.
Honda is once empowering its engineers
Image Courtesy: Motor.es
Kuch years pehle, Honda Motor ne 2020 mein apna R&D department, yani Honda R&D, absorb kar liya tha, ye decision us time ke president Takahiro Hachigo ke orders par liya gaya tha.
Hachigo ke according, iska main idea company ki efficiency increase karna tha, or is baat se us time Toshihiro Mibe, jo Honda R&D ke head the, woh bhi agree karte the.
And yes, wahi Mibe baad mein unke successor bane, or aaj ke current CEO or president bhi wahi hai.