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Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Kanji: 本田技研工業株式会社; Katakana: ホンダ; Rōmaji: Honda Giken Kōgyō Kabushiki gaisha), is a company of Japanese open capital manufacturer of automobiles, engines for land, water, and air vehicles, motorcycles, robots, and components for the automotive industry.
History
It was founded in 1949 in Hamamatsu (Shizuoka) by engineer Sōichirō Honda under the name of Honda Technical Research Institute. The company started when Sōichirō Honda managed to power a bicycle with a small auxiliary motor. This anecdote, along with the philosophy of its founder, is reflected in the company's current motto, The Power of Dreams, and in the company's innovative spirit, which defines its mission as "offering products that contribute to improving the mobility of people and the well-being of society”. Sōichirō Honda once summed up his company's philosophy by stating that "Honda products are known throughout the world not only for their good quality, but also for the philosophy behind them: our policy is to create things that serve the interests of the people." ”.
In March 2009, Honda cut production by 40% to reduce its inventories and deal with falling sales. Likewise, Honda has focused its efforts on the sustainable mobility strategy that it has been developing for almost four decades, oriented towards ecological cars, such as hybrids and those powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, such as the new Insight and the FCX Clarity, respectively..
Sustainable mobility
One of Honda's strengths and its main differentiation factor from other automobile companies is the research and development of technologies that make it possible to achieve so-called sustainable mobility, a strategy that began more than 30 years ago. Today, the company is focused on promoting hybrid vehicles, as it considers that this technology is currently the most effective in reducing polluting emissions and one of the few already available and accessible on a massive scale on the market. Honda believes that hybrids are the logical intermediate step towards completely clean technologies. With this objective, Honda launched the Insight car in February 2009, the last hybrid car in its range, heir to the original Insight (1999), it was the first hybrid marketed in the United States and Europe. At a price capable of competing with that of conventional cars, this model represents the effort that the company has made to bring hybrid technology to the general public.
Thanks to decades of research, today Honda vehicles are among the least emitting in every category. This effort was rewarded when, at the beginning of 2008, the new registration tax came into force in Spain, based on emission criteria to prioritize the most ecological vehicles: Honda was one of the best positioned companies. In fact, as far back as December 1998, Hiroyuki Yoshino, former president of Honda Motor, said: "In the end, the industry will be forced to switch to the electric vehicle, whatever it is, by batteries or by a battery. fuel. We are facing a global energy crisis. I know you've heard this before, but this time it's true. It may happen 30 years from now, or probably sooner, but there's no way around it.
In addition, Honda applies a strict program of policies focused on a more efficient use of energy, the reduction of polluting emissions and the reduction of the consumption of the engines it develops to reduce its environmental impact, which reaches the production areas, sale, after-sales service. Thanks to all this, Honda was named in 2007, for the fourth consecutive year, the Greenest Car Manufacturer (Union of Concerned Scientists) and is one of the three companies in the automotive sector included in the Top 100 Most Sustainable Companies of the World in 2008 (Corporate Knights Inc. and Innovest Strategic Value Advisors Inc.).
Another of Honda's preferred lines of research is the development of the FCX Clarity, the most advanced hydrogen fuel cell powered car. Honda has been researching the development of its hydrogen vehicle, the first and only zero-emission vehicle, since the 1980s and is the only company that has obtained approval to market its vehicle powered by this system in Japan and the United States. FCX Clarity is a symbol of the mobility of the future, of the Hydrogen Economy. The Honda FCX Clarity is capable of traveling 460 km (285.8 miles) without refueling and reaching a speed of 160 km/h (99 mph), emitting only water vapor into the atmosphere, that is, zero polluting emissions.
Motor sports
Honda in the world
Honda in Spain
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Lead by Greens, the Power Products division, consisting of small agricultural machinery, was Honda's first bet in Spain, with an accumulated park to date of more than one million units sold between 1982 and 2007.
Honda's activity in Spain continued in 1986, with the acquisition of Montesa, the Spanish motorcycle firm. Honda Automobiles Spain S.A. (HAESA), a subsidiary of the automobile division of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., was established in 1988. Currently, its headquarters are located in Santa Perpetua de Mogoda (Barcelona).
Honda has four other business divisions in Barcelona: the Montesa-Honda factory, a motorcycle manufacturing and marketing division; the Honda Logistic Center, from where parts are distributed throughout southern Europe; Honda Finance and the Power Products division represented by Greens Power Products.
In 2007, Honda Automóviles España, S.A broke its historic sales record, with an increase of 26.5% compared to the results of the previous year. The same year, it reached a share of 1.6% in the Spanish market, and its most emblematic model, the Honda Civic, reached 10,952 units sold, another record figure in the Spanish market.
Honda has opted to introduce increasingly cleaner vehicles into the Spanish market, since 2006, when the Honda Civic Hybrid was launched. The IMA system, designed for the brand's hybrids, has a main gasoline engine and a very light electric auxiliary, which provides extra power during acceleration and accumulates, in the battery, the kinetic energy that would be lost when braking., thus considerably improving performance and fuel efficiency. The Insight, Honda's new hybrid model, was launched on the European and Spanish markets at the beginning of 2009.
Honda in Latin America
Honda in Argentina
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. settles in Argentina, being the first Japanese engine manufacturer with a subsidiary.
The first imported models were the Accord, Prelude and Civic (in a 5-door version). The importation of vehicles and motorcycles was interrupted by the events of the economic policy of 1982, until the reactivation of the economy in 1991. In 1999, Honda Automóviles de Argentina S.A. was established, directly taking charge of the commercialization of automobiles.
In August 2006, it inaugurated its first production plant in Argentina, in Florencio Varela, where it manufactures its Honda Biz product, and assembles the Wave and Storm. With a production of more than 300 units per day, it has a team of 200 technicians and operators.
As of Thursday, October 21, 2010, Honda became a member of ADEFA (Association of Automotive Factories).
On May 26, 2011, it inaugurated its second plant – first automotive production plant – in the city of Campana, in the Province of Buenos Aires. From this new facility, Honda will manufacture the full City range, which to date was assembled in Brazil.
Also in 2011, an investment of 3 million dollars was announced to assemble motorcycles also in its Campana factory, to replace imports from Brazil and export motorcycles and parts to other Latin American countries, including incorporating two new manufacturing models national this year and another three the following year.
In 2013, Honda celebrates 35 years of presence in Argentina, during which it has developed quality systems aimed at maximum customer satisfaction, both in its products and in the After-Sales service.
Honda in Brazil
Inspired by the uniqueness of the Honda culture practiced worldwide, the Brazilian Honda seeks to broaden the fans for its products much more and contribute to the development of Brazil.
The history of the company in the country begins in the 1970s, when there was practically no manufacturer in the local market that supplied the high demand for motorcycles in the giant country and in the Central and South American continent. In view of this, the large Japanese industrial conglomerate founded its branch of Honda Motor do Brasil, in 1971, beginning with the importation of motorcycles and, two years later, the line of products for power generation, motor plants and machinery. of construction.
The biggest leap of the company in Brazil occurs in 1976, with the beginning of the local production of motorcycles, and then in 1997, of vehicles and engines. Today, at the Moto Honda da Amazônia LTDA. (HDA), in the state of Manaus (AM/Por Amazonas), motorcycles, quadricycles (All Terrain Vehicle ― ATV), and stationary engines are manufactured in addition to pumping and power plants. Honda in Brazil is the national leader in the motorcycle sector and in 2009, surpassed the mark of 13 million units produced in its local plants, which even places it as a regional leader in the motorcycle market.
Controlling Moto Honda da Amazônia are two other companies, located in the same region: the first is Honda Componentes da Amazônia LTDA. (HCA) and the second is Honda Tecnologia da Amazônia Indústria e Comercio LTDA. (HTA).
In 1992, another great advance took place, with the beginning of automobile imports to Brazil. Based on the good references of the users of the mentioned vehicles, the inauguration took place, in 1997, of the Honda Automóveis do Brasil (HAB) factory, in the city of Sumaré (SP/Sao Paulo), which in 2009 exceeded 700 thousand units manufactured.
There is also a branch of local banking, the Honda Serviços Financeiros (HSF), which includes subsidiary companies such as Consorcio Nacional Honda, Banco Honda and Corredora de Seguros Honda LTDA. With the ease and very secure access to special financing plans through its subsidiary, many Brazilians have realized their dream of having their own car and/or motorcycle. The Financial Services Division will complete 30 years in the local Brazilian market in 2016.
In April 2014, Honda launched the third generation of its compact hatchback, the Honda Fit, produced at its Brazilian plant.
Honda in Mexico
Guadalajara Plant
Seeking to establish its seventh product marketing platform outside Japan, in 1984 Honda sent a group of people headed by Mr. Hideo Kimura Okubo, to carry out a market study to establish a production plant in Mexico. Several cities in the north and center of the country were visited, and after careful analysis, the decision was made to establish it in the state of Jalisco, due to its geographical location, climate, adequate infrastructure, skilled labor, and its universities. Once the establishment of the plant was authorized by the Government of Mexico, in June of that year, Mr. Kimura was in charge of founding what is now Honda de México and became the first President of Honda de México S.A. de C.V.
Currently the following activities are carried out: Assembly and marketing of motorcycles, Manufacture and marketing of auto parts and components for motorcycles, defenses and covers for lawn mowers, assembly of power products and Marketing of spare parts, power products and outboard motors.
Until the beginning of 2020, the Honda de México Guadalajara plant produced 63,000 HR-V vehicles annually.
After the decision made by the directors of Honda North America, Honda de México announced that it will transfer production of the HR-V crossover that was manufactured at the plant in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and will concentrate all automobile production at the Celaya, Guanajuato plant, starting in early 2020. The Guadalajara plant will focus its operations on the production of motorcycles, power products, and spare parts.
This decision was made to optimize the automobile manufacturing structure of Honda de México, as well as to improve the commercial efficiency of the company.
With this production adjustment, the Guadalajara plant will continue to supply high-quality motorcycles, power products, and spare parts, while the Celaya Plant, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 units, will more efficiently produce the models HRV and Fit for the national and global market.
Celaya Plant
In 2011, Honda announced that it would install a new vehicle assembly plant and an engine plant, this in order to satisfy the North American, South American and European markets with Fit type vehicles in its 2014 models and from 2015 the introduction of a new model called Honda Urban 2015. The investment reached 850 million dollars and more than 3,200 direct jobs in its first stage. This is the largest investment in Mexico in the automotive sector. The automaker plans to initially produce 200,000 Fit subcompact vehicle units and 200,000 new generation engines in Celaya; The assembler plans to start operations in 2014 and will be located in a surface area of 566 hectares to cover the markets of Mexico, Europe, South America and North America. With Honda operating in Celaya, it is expected that in the next 5 years the annual production of automobiles and SUVs will amount to 576 thousand units per year, 600 thousand engines per year, in addition to the creation of a transmission plant. This means that by the time the plant is at its planned capacity, it will annually produce 10% of all vehicles manufactured in Mexico, making it one of the largest plants not only in Mexico but in all of North and South America. In 2013, the construction of a transmission plant was announced, with an investment of more than 470 million dollars. Honda ratifies its confidence in Guanajuato and its commitments to increase its starting production from 370,000 transmissions per year to 750,000 starting in 2016, when it starts operating at 100 percent. Increasing its workforce to 4,700 workers to date and 8,000 in 5 years.