Car assembler Honda Cars Philippines Inc. wants to get back its top position in the country’s automotive market.

HCPI President Tatsuya Natsume said he has set plans to “reclaim our rightful position in the Philippine automotive industry.” The Philippine unit and its parent company, Honda Motors Japan, have been plagued with adversities and challenges, including several model recalls, earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan and the flooding of the Honda Thailand plant, the auto manufacturer’s main facility in Southeast Asia.

Natsume said, “We are pleased to announce that we are on our way to recovery. We [are now] able to resolve our parts supply problems. And this is really the good news as we are now ready to serve our customers and deliver those much-awaited Honda vehicles to them.”

The company resumed operations this month after it suspended local production on November 3 due to limited parts supply. HCPI assembles the Honda City and Honda Civic variants in its facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

There is a four- to six-month waiting period for Honda car orders as a result of limited stock supply.

The HCPI executive further revealed that the company will import Honda models from Japan, as the Thai facility is still undergoing renovation. Orders of Jazz, Accord and the soon-to-be-launched Civic will temporarily come from Honda’s manufacturing plants in Japan.

The company will also add new models in its current lineup to boost product offerings, although Natsume declined to provide additional details.

HCPI is starting off its fortified game plan with Tuesday’s launch of the 2012 Honda City, one of the company’s best-selling models.

The new City has been given a fresh exterior with a new front grille, redesigned from front and rear bumpers, 15-inch alloy wheels and improved center console. The 1.3 manual-transmission variant is priced at P746,000; 1.3-automatic at P786,000 and the top-of-the-line 1.5-automatic at P836,000.

First launched in the Philippines in 1996, the Honda City originated the subcompact sedan or B-category in the country. It has sold approximately 68,000 units of the third-generation City in the country.

ABS-CBNNews.com

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Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) has reduced the number of Jazz and CRV units that they are recalling by 4,620 units after it realized that these units have different design of power window master switch.

Last Monday, Honda announced the voluntary recall of 19,143 units of combined year. 2005-2007 Honda Jazz, year 2006-2008 City and year 2005-2008 CR-V models to replace the power window master switch assembly with countermeasure parts.

However, in a press statement, HCPI said that after a careful study, the number of affected vehicles is reduced to 14,883 units. The other 4,260 units which are not included in the recall have a different design of power window master switch which was supplied by other parts supplier. For easier reference, City units with central door lock function are not included in the recall.

The silicon component commonly found in air fresheners or automotive cleaning agents, etc. enters into the power window master switch. This accelerates wear in the contact area and over time, wear particles accumulate between the power source and ground of the unit switch. The resin material of the unit switch is then heated and carbonized. This may cause smoke and in worst case, partial burning of the window switch cover. To date, no accidents or injuries have been reported related to this defect in the Philippines

To conduct the voluntary recall in an orderly manner, customers are requested to call their respective dealers. Replacement of affected parts will be carried out in all 28 authorized dealers and 3 service centers nationwide, free of charge and will take no more than 30 minutes.

Philippine Star

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The local automotive industry reported a decline in sales for the first eight months of the year due to the effects of the disasters in Japan that limited the production and supply of some models.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) in a joint report showed a 4.1 percent decline in January to August sales from a year ago level. During the first eight months of 2011, total industry sales stood at 93,108 units, lower than the 97,122 units recorded a year ago.

Month-on-month, however, the August sales performance was slightly higher at 11,558 from 11,550 in July due to introduction of new model, continuous promotion and availability of units.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. sold 34,190 units or 36.72 percent of total market share.

This was followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with sales of 21,182 units or 24.43 percent market share. Third was Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 9.73 percent market share or 9,062 units followed by Ford Motor Company Phils. Inc. with 8.81 percent or 8,200 units and followed by Isuzu Philippines Corp. with 6.72 percent or 6,259 units.

Sales of passenger cars registered a 6.8 percent growth compared to last July’s figure but lower when compared from a year ago level.

Commercial vehicle sales decreased by 3.2 percent to 7, 532 in August from 7,782 units in July.

Philippine Star

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As a precautionary measure, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) has initiated a recall of 19,143 units of its Jazz, City and CR-V models to replace the power window master switch assembly.

In a briefing Monday, HCPI sales and corporate communication head Voltaire Gonzales said the recall had nothing to do with safety issues, but was only being done to prevent inconveniences to motorists in the long run.

He explained that the company decided to conduct a recall as early as now to prevent possible accidents that could occur with the power window master switch assembly over the long run.

Cars with silicon-based air fresheners and those whose owners use automotive cleaning agents with silicon components are especially prone to damage, as the silicon components enter the switch assembly and accelerate wear over time.

Silicon particles can accumulate between the power source and the ground of the switch, causing the resin material of the unit switch to be heated and carbonized. This can result in smoke or, at worst, partial burning of the window switch cover.

So far, none of the vehicles that had already been brought for repair had encountered these problems, Gonzales related. The power window master switch assembly just malfunctioned.

“The problem manifests over time, so car owners won’t immediately encounter this. It won’t cause an explosion, but it could be an inconvenience to the user if it happens,” Gonzales said.

Covered by the recall are 2,924 units of the 2005-2007 Jazz; 13,352 units of the 2006-2008 City; and 2,867 units of the 2005-2006 CR-V.

Replacement of the parts, including labor and materials, will be of no charge to the vehicle owner. Owners of affected vehicles will just have to set an appointment with any of the 28 authorized HCPI dealers and three service centers nationwide. Repairs, excluding waiting time, will take only 30 minutes.

Gonzales assured owners of affected vehicles that all the necessary parts were on hand.

HCPI in February also conducted a global recall of Jazz and City models manufactured from September 2008 to April 2010, affecting 5,468 units sold locally. The recall was initiated after it was discovered that a spring caused friction and noise in the engine, which, in the long run, could cause stalling or even engine failure.

Of this total, Gonzales said 81 percent had already been brought for repair.

“There’s still an ongoing effort to track down the remaining vehicles that we haven’t repaired yet,” he said.

The Jazz and the CR-V are both imported from Thailand, while the City is manufactured at HCPI’s facility in Laguna.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Honda Cars Philippines Inc. said Friday its dealers are on a “yellow flag” status until the vehicle supply situation normalizes.

“Currently, we are on an indefinite ‘yellow flag’ status—meaning we are on an alert mode—because of the fluidity of the situation. We will conduct a monthly review [to assess the situation],” Voltaire Gonzales, head of Honda Cars Philippines sales department, said in a text message to the Manila Standard.

He said Honda might not achieve its target to sell 17,600 units this year because of the present tight supply and reduced volume of production.

“Because of these recent events, we see sales lower than the previous forecast,” he said.

He said the company’s 2011 target was higher by 6 percent over 16,600 units in 2010. “But still we hope that the situation normalizes sooner,” Gonzales said.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. said Thursday it was still sticking to its 4- to 5-percent sales growth target, adding that lost sales can be recovered soon.

“The effect of the tsunami disaster in Japan has been felt locally where plants scaled down operations temporarily given supply problems. This was expected given the magnitude of the disaster. The effect may be felt in these two months,” Elizabeth Lee, Campi president, said in a statement Thursday.

“However, the effect is temporary. Despite the difficulties we face due to the lack of supply of some vehicles and parts, we are optimistic that we will be able to recover the lost sales given the full-year outlook.”

“Contrary to some reports, Campi’s forecast for the year remains unchanged to date. The reports… suggesting the lowering of the forecast is incorrect. No such official statement from Campi was ever given to that effect,” Lee said.

Honda has 28 full-time dealerships nationwide, including the latest in the province of Rizal.

Earlier, Honda Cars said it was not considering price increases this year amid tight vehicle production in the country in the aftermath of the Japan disasters in March.

Tatsuya Natsume, the newly-appointed Honda Cars president, said in a press briefing recently that the company would maintain the current pricing. “Everything is very unstable [in the car industry] at the moment so we decided not to increase prices,” he said.

Manila Standard Today

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Just when domestic vehicle sales picked up speed during the first quarter, there’s a speed bump ahead fast approaching – automotive spare supplies are running out because of the disasters that hit Japan in March.

“Understandably, the effects of the tragedy are being felt as assembly plants scale down operations due to the lack of parts supply. As expected, the lack of parts supply affected production. Although some key parts suppliers’ plants have resumed operations, they have yet to operate at normal levels,” said Elizabeth Lee, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI).

The Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) and CAMPI released on Monday their joint sales report, showing that 48,109 vehicles were sold from January to April this year – 4.8 percent more than sales of during the same four-month period in 2010.

CAMPI’s president cited “unavailability of stocks for some models” as the reason why April sales slowed down by 14.2 percent to 11,816 units as compared to March with 13,775 units sold – even as passenger cars sales at end-April had actually risen 8.9 percent from the start of the year.

She was quick to add, however, that this “may be revised accordingly as we move forward in the coming month with greater visibility on the extent of the damage and its lingering effect on local operations,” pointing out that industry sales growth remained within the forecasted range of 4 to 5 percent.

“Demand will continue to outpace supply temporarily as plants try to ramp up operations to higher levels at the soonest time possible. Currently, players continue to serve demand based on inventories on hand,” she said.

Cautious Optimism

“We continue to be cautiously optimistic. The scale and magnitude of the tragedy that rocked Japan was a shock to all,” Lee said.

“We continue to monitor the situation as we work with our principals on temporary solutions to help mitigate the impact and shorten the gap so operations can scale up to normal levels at the soonest time possible,” she said.

She said “prices continue to hold” but could be affected by other factors like inflation and foreign exchange movements. “Fortunately, inflation is still within a manageable range and the strong yen is somewhat being tempered by a relatively strong peso,” she said.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. sold the most number of vehicles in the first quarter of 2011 with 18,440 units; followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 10,945 units; and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. with 4,823 units.

Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., which is not a member of CAMPI, also released its own sales report on Monday, putting its sales at 6,419 vehicles as of end-April.

GMANews.Tv

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Japan’s Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it was cutting April output by half at its Philippine assembly plant due to parts shortages caused by the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

“HCPI (Honda Cars Philippines Inc.) is temporarily reducing 50% of its production volume from April 2011,” the Philippine unit said in a statement that cited reduced supplies of imported parts.

The subsidiary did not say how this would translate in terms of numbers of vehicles assembled.

“Honda will closely monitor the situation and strive to resume normal production operations the soonest,” it said.

Honda markets the Civic, Accord and CR-V models in the Philippines along with two sub-compact cars. As a whole, the Southeast Asian country had total vehicle sales of nearly 168,500 last year, according to industry data.

Honda is one of several carmakers to feel the ripple effects of Japan’s worst natural disaster in nearly a century, which has disrupted an array of industries worldwide.

ABS-CBN News

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The Philippine unit of Japan’s Honda Motor Co. Ltd. incurred the biggest sales drop last year among domestic carmakers, an industry report said.

Sales of Honda Cars Philippines Inc. plummeted by 17.4 percent to 14,298 last year from 17,320 in 2007, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report.

As a result, Honda, which used to be the Philippines’ second-largest carmaker, shed its market share to 12 percent from 15.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Philippines Inc. (TMPI), the country’s biggest car company, maintained its market lead, posting overall sales to 45,915 units from 45,091 units in 2007.

Toyota was trailed by Mitsubishi Motor Corp., which was able to sell 17,539 units, a 17 percent hike from last year’s figures.

Universal Motors Corp., which distributes Nissan vehicles, reported the highest sales increase, selling 4,789 units in 2008, up from the previous year’s 3,330 units.

Similarly, Suzuki Phils., Inc. said sales rose by three percent to 2,182 units in 2008 from 2,125 in 2007.

GMANews.TV

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Honda Cars Philippines Inc. forecasts over 10 percent increase in sales this year from a negative 17 percent growth last year as it invests P140 million for the local assembly of its all-new City models, which are expected to drive the company back to a growth path despite the turmoil in the global auto market.

HCPI president Hiroshi Shimizu told reporters at yesterday’s launch of the locally assembled City 2009 the global crisis that is harshly affecting the auto market abroad is not seriously affecting Philippine auto operations.

“There is no big impact in the Philippines compared with other countries,” Shimizu said.

In fact, Shimizu said the company expects over 10 percent increase in sales volume this year from last year’s 14,300 units, which was a 17 percent decline versus 2007 sales.

Shimizu said the sales growth would be driven by the expected strong demand of the All-New City model for which the company invested P140 million for new tools, jigs and equipment for the City CKD assembly at its plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

City is expected to sell 7,000 units this year from last year’s 5,000 units.

City and Civic models are HCPI’s volume sellers accounting for 65 percent of its total sales. Both are assembled locally as CKD packs.

Shimizu expects City to outperform Civic this year.

Shimizu said the City would be its only new model introduction for the entire year the rest would be minor upgrades of existing models.

HCPI finished third biggest carmaker this year after Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. grabbed the second slot.

Shimizu said their sales performance was pulled down by the poor performance of its other models.

Shimizu said they are not conscious about market share stressing its priority is always customer satisfaction.

“Can we survive with market share?” he asked.

Instead, the company is expanding its reach with the opening soon of its 25th dealership in Batangas and another Service Center in Tandang Sora.

In terms of exports, Shimizu said they were able to increase its export last year to P4 billion worth of transmissions and other auto parts last year.

But with the global crisis this year, the company is not confident of increase in its exports. It exports to UK, India and Southeast Asia.

Shimizu is confident that its All-New City will pull its sales this year as it has done in the past.

Since its introduction here in 1996, City has generated cumulative sales of over 43,000 units grabbing a fair share in the passenger car segment.

The All-New City comes in four variants with introductory prices starting at:

1.3-liter A MT P676,000

1.3-liter S MT P716,000

1.3-liter S AT P756,000

1.5-liter E AT P806,000.(BCM)

Manila Bulletin

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Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. bares plans to adjust prices of its multi-awarded compact sedan, Honda Civic.  Since its introduction in 2006, the 8th generation Civic has rocketed sales charts and has consistently gained market leadership in its class.  To date, the Civic has been well received by almost 18,000 happy customers.

Due to increased production cost brought about by the weakening of local currency, Honda plans to bring Civic prices to normal levels.  Effective December 01, 2008, price of all Civic models will increase by P20,000.  Base model Civic 1.8V with manual transmission will be priced Php 830,000.  The best-selling variant, Civic 1.8S with automatic transmission will be priced Php 919,000 while its top of the line variant 2.0SL with automatic transmission will be priced Php 1,150,000.The Civic comes in 1.8 liter engine (SOHC, 140ps @6300 rpm) and in 2.0 liter engine (DOHC, 155ps @ 6000 rpm) in i-VTEC configuration that delivers a perfect balance of power and fuel efficiency.  During Honda’s fuel economy drive entitled Honda Challenge Cup, the 1.8 Civic posted 21.48 km/li by Alan Sevilla of NU107 and Barbara Lorenzo of Businessworld.  Choosing a natural driving environment for the competition, media participants traversed traffic congested roads of Ayala Avenue, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, EDSA and even the highways of North Luzon Expressway on the way to Dau, Pampanga.

Embodying class-leading technology, promising fuel economy and excellent engine performance, the 8th generation Civic has made its mark worldwide.  Here in the local market, the Civic has won back-to-back premier accolades which include Car of the Year Award by the Car Awards Group Inc. and Automobile of the Year during the 3rd Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards.  These awards are a testimony to the living legacy of Honda to produce cars of the highest quality, geared towards total customer satisfaction.

The Civic is available in exciting colors: Nighthawk Black Pearl, Habanero Red, Bluish Silver and Alabaster Silver.  Exclusive colors available for the 2.0 li model are Carbon Bronze and Pearl White Mica.

For more details, you may contact any of Honda’s 24 dealership network or simply log on to www.hondaphil.com.

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