Bangkok--16 Jul--Aziam Burson-Marsteller
Honda retains its sales leadership for June,driving it to be the Number 1 best seller in Thailand’s passenger car segment for the first half of 2013,Reinforcing its focus on delivering a diverse range of automobile models to meet all customer needs
Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd. has reinforced its success as one of the most popular automobile brands in Thailand by maintaining its market leadership in passenger car sales once again in June, with a record of 17,345 units sold. Honda held the Number One position in this segment during the first half of 2013 (January through June) with accumulated sales of 131,458 units, a 172% rise over the 48,309 units sold during same period of last year.
With its proactive marketing activations that focused on the strategic introduction of a diverse range of automobiles to meet the demands of all customers’ lifestyles through the launch of 12 new models over 12 months, Honda has held Thailand’s Number One position in passenger cars since the fourth quarter of 2012, maintaining this position of strength during the first half of 2013. All Honda models have received positive acceptance from Thai customers.
Honda City, the all-time model of choice
The Honda City is the most popular model among subcompact cars available in Thailand, with the highest sales of 9,044 units in June, which represents 39% of the subcompact sedan segment. Accumulated sales of the Honda City during January through June 2013 were 53,175 units, accounting for 33.6% of the segment.
Honda Accord, the ultimate of your desires
The Honda Accord, the ninth generation of Honda’s premium passenger model, has an elegant and luxurious design with smart driving technologies. Honda Accord sales were 1,306 units in June, which at 57.6% was the highest in the family car segment. Since its launch three months ago, the Honda Accord has continued to hold the Number One position in sales in its segment, from April through June 2013.
Honda CR-V, the superior standard for sport utility vehicles (SUVs)
The new-generation Honda CR-V, launched in late September 2012, comes complete with a strong and premium design, advanced technologies and an extensive range of standard safety features. The all-new Honda CR-V had sales in June of 1,570 units, or 60% of the SUV market segment. Accumulated sales for the Honda CR-V reached 14,052 units during January through June 2013, which is a 76% share of the SUV market segment.
Honda Freed, the trend setter in multipurpose utility vehicles
Taking the lead in the trend of a distinctive and sporty style in a highly practical vehicle for a family, Honda announced the new Honda Freed in September 2012, setting a new trend for multi-utility vehicles (MUVs). This has driven the increasing growth of the MUV segment. The new Honda Freed reported sales of 629 units in June with a market share of 39.10% of its segment, and accumulated sales of 4,197 units for a 34.50% market share during the period of January through June 2013.
According to Mr. Pitak Pruittisarikorn, Executive Vice President, Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd., “For our continuing success, Honda expresses our heartfelt appreciation for all the support from our Thai customers and positive consumer acceptance of all Honda models. In the second half of 2013, we are committed to delivering high-quality products to Thai customers as part of our dynamic marketing strategy to maintain our leadership in the Thai market. Our sales for the entire year are expected to be more than 200,000 units.
“Honda recently held a ground stone laying ceremony for the construction of our new assembly plant on a 1,600 rai site in the Rojana Industrial Estate, Prachinburi. With an investment of 17.15 billion baht, the new assembly plant will have an annual automobile production capacity of 120,000 units and is expected to start operating in 2015 and employ 2,500 associates. The construction of the new Prachinburi assembly plant is a key part of Honda’s business strategy. It reflects Honda’s commitment to build products close to the customer and to meet the increasing demand for automobiles in the Asia and Oceania region,” stated Pitak.
“In addition, Honda will ensure sustainable growth together with Thai society while striving to advance our business operations. The Honda Group of Companies in Thailand has made a contribution to the Honda Khiang Khang Thai Fund for every product sold in Thailand. To date, the Fund has grown to 500 million Baht and has already been used many times for relief efforts to help Thai people,” he added.