4 ms·

Honda’s global strategy: Go local

36 points by clarkm 12y ago

dang 12y ago
Url changed from http://www.overcomingbias.com/2014/08/automation-vs-innovation.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2014/08/automation-vs-innovati..., which points to this.
hhandoko 12y ago
The Japanese automotive industry is always a topic of interesting discussion back in my university days [1]. One thing that's permanently ingrained in my head about Honda since all these years: Know your core competencies. In regards with Honda, it's making good engines. [1] - I went to business school, not computer science.
bane 12y ago
Honda is fascinating to me. Making among the most consistently reliable cars, at least according to every consumer survey I've ever seen. Their cars are relatively no-frills, they usually seem to trail any technology trends in the industry by a generation or two. They're kind of the Nintendo of the car world. Never first, generally or always profitable, even when they look like they're down. They're basically the automotive embodiment of Gunpei Yokoi's "Lateral Thinking of Withered Technology". At least in the part of the world where I live, I can absolutely guarantee that at any given stoplight, there will be at least 1 Honda vehicle. They're absolutely ubiquitous here. Honda buyers are also among the highest percentage of returning customers...because their last car gave them something like 20 years of trouble free, reasonable cost driving. They're profitable even though they're in 2 of the most competitive and lowest average profit automotive segments in the world and their products last forever. Yet there's some unusual things going on with Honda that I think is worth paying attention to: - I'm frequently surprised, when I leave my local bubble, how few Hondas I see. I remember first noticing it during a few travels to the midwest. At any given stoplight, I could guarantee I wouldn't see a Honda. I'd definitely see an American brands and usually a Toyota. These days I see a surprising number of Hyundais, but outside of what seems to be fairly particular parts of the U.S. Honda vehicles just don't seem to be that common. - I'm even more surprised when overseas how slim the Honda pickings are. I think in a couple-three weeks in London I may have seen 3 Eurostyle civics. Reading UK reviews the reviewers seem so...tepid on the vehicles. Comparing them often unfavorable to notoriously unreliable VW and even worse, Peugeot and Citroën, which are among the few automakers to make Ferraris and Jaguars look like reliable automotive appliances. I'd say this says that UK buyers don't really value reliability, but reviews of UK Fords are full of "if you want a reliable car, this is a good car to get"...which is odd, since Fords, while probably more reliable than most European cars, are not terribly reliable in comparison to Japanese cars (there about as good as Korean cars are these days). - In Continental Europe I can't remember seeing more then 1, despite months all over. In Korea, the American spec Accord was about as popular as a Japanese car can be. But I've seen more Landrovers in Korea that Hondas. - On the flip side, their Japanese rival Toyota, is just about everywhere. The Hilux is especially ubiquitous in harsher climates. I even owned one for a bit (they're not nearly as indestructible as Top Gear makes them appear) and it was fine. - Honda runs a surprisingly public and aggressive R&D program. Everything from fuel cells to humanoid robots. The first in-car navigation system ever was made by Honda. But they seem to take forever before they trickle this tech into their cars. The moment of commercialization for them seems to be a generation or two after everybody else is doing it. All of these things make me think Honda still has huge growth potential. If consumers start to value what Honda is offering, they could easily be a #1 or #2 in the world maker. As it is, consumer simply value other things (big engines, styling, name cachet, whatever). I think Honda takes an unusually measured approach in the industry. The last couple generations seem strangely out of character. I've got this down to two events: 1. The rise of Korean cars. The weird stylish Accord and Civic from that period, with their bizarre button filled, non-ergonomic dashes. 2. Fukushima. The Honda generation from that period are almost a return to form, but they seem oddly unfocused in design. However, but golly if the current generation seems like Honda back in form. Boring, reasonably prices, unbelievably reliable appliances you ride in reasonable comfort from a->b.
- cpursley 12y ago
  Your last comment is the reason we (my wife) bought our second Honda after considering several other makes. The new Fit just feels like what a Honda is supposed to be. Also, as a Toyota Tacoma owner with a bazillion miles, man, I'd love to own a turbo-diesel Hilux which is available in basically every country except the United States.
- acomjean 12y ago
  Hondas are very common in Massachusetts. Hondas seem to be more expensive than comparable cars from other makes (They do seem to last longer though). As an happy honda Element owner, after they canceled that model I'm starting to wonder what my next car will be.
- m_mueller 12y ago
  In Switzerland I see them relatively often. Their current overall market share here is 2.4%. For comparison, Ford has 5.4%, Toyota 4.7%. Maybe the variety here is a bit unique, even the largest brand Volkswagen only has 11.5%. Having tried many different brands thanks to carsharing (also very popular here), I have to say that one thing is a bit strange in Hondas - the controls, as in switches, are a bit different from what most Europeans are used to. At least for me it took the longest to get used to it compared to many other brands. It seems they are less adapted from the Japanese base models, which would speak against the article - maybe Honda did a better job in other markets than EU.
  - bane 12y ago
    > I have to say that one thing is a bit strange in Hondas - the controls, as in switches, are a bit different from what most Europeans are used to. I had use of a couple of Audis years ago and could never get used to the controls. It seemed like everything was designed to be in a place I'd either want to rest an arm (and therefore accidentally trigger) or force me to take my eyes off the road and change my body position to operate. One of them, the A3, was particularly terrible, burying the radio controls almost down as low on the dash as you could put it for example. I remember one experience in particular, I was on the A9 from Nuremberg going towards Munich. The car was still pretty new to me, but I'd been driving it pretty steadily for a few weeks. I was listening to the radio, the show changed and all I wanted to do was scan the dial for the next station. I had to lean over with my head virtually below the dash to reach the dial, and it being an Audi there were dozens of buttons and dials. I accidentally hit one of the preset buttons instead of "scan forward" and it switched to an Opera (which I don't particularly care for). I couldn't figure out, while driving how to fix this, accidentally turned the volume up instead of down and ended up with red Audi dash lights blaring me in the face while doing 170kph absolutely blasting Opera music out of the car. Being Germany of course there weren't big American style shoulders for me to pull over on and fix the situation so I had to exit and drive till I found a place to park for 10 minutes to fix this mess. The entire time I was doing this I was thinking of the Hondas, Nissans and Toyotas I had driven right before that, where that entire operation was a glance and a comfortable no-lean reach to the ergonomically placed controls that were just at arms reach away. The Audis were fun cars to drive, but knowing that doing something like changing the radio station might put my life at risk, I decided never to buy one. So yeah the switches are definitely in different places, but I think that they're in better places overall.
chiph 12y ago
This really reads like a PR plant. Honda (the company) is no longer like what it was under Soichiro Honda. The bad reception of the 2012 Civic¹ was somewhat of a wakeup call for them, but they have been late to market with gasoline direct injection (GDI) motors, and there aren't any American-spec diesels in development (the Pilot, Odyssey, and possible refresh of the Ridgeline could really use the torque). Given the trend (a new chairman every 5-6 years), we should expect to see new leadership at Honda soon, and perhaps he will speed up product development, and return more of the decision making to the engineers. Surprising rumors are that they have licensed the ZF 9-speed transmission, which will really help with the fuel economy. And give the Pilot gearing that will help it off-road (the 9-speed often starts off in a higher gear, leaving 1st and/or 2nd for a simulated "low range"). I was expecting them to go with one of the Aisin models, actually. This is a big cultural change for Honda, as they have traditionally designed and built their own transmissions. Given the stupendous cost of creating a new automatic transmission (well over a billion dollars), this will free up a lot of capital for them. ¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(ninth_generation)#2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(ninth_generation)#...
itazula 12y ago
The book, Driving Honda, is a great read. If being a successful start-up means making the best use of the resources around you, and being acutely aware of the status quo, yet willing to challenge it through real engineering, then Shoichiro Honda exemplified that way of being. And as a foil to the destruction of a company's culture, there was none better than Takeo Fujisawa (read the book to know why).

36 points by clarkm 12y ago

dang 12y ago

Url changed from http://www.overcomingbias.com/2014/08/automation-vs-innovation.html http://www.overcomingbias.com/2014/08/automation-vs-innovati..., which points to this.

hhandoko 12y ago

The Japanese automotive industry is always a topic of interesting discussion back in my university days [1]. One thing that's permanently ingrained in my head about Honda since all these years: Know your core competencies. In regards with Honda, it's making good engines. [1] - I went to business school, not computer science.

bane 12y ago

Honda is fascinating to me. Making among the most consistently reliable cars, at least according to every consumer survey I've ever seen. Their cars are relatively no-frills, they usually seem to trail any technology trends in the industry by a generation or two. They're kind of the Nintendo of the car world. Never first, generally or always profitable, even when they look like they're down. They're basically the automotive embodiment of Gunpei Yokoi's "Lateral Thinking of Withered Technology". At least in the part of the world where I live, I can absolutely guarantee that at any given stoplight, there will be at least 1 Honda vehicle. They're absolutely ubiquitous here. Honda buyers are also among the highest percentage of returning customers...because their last car gave them something like 20 years of trouble free, reasonable cost driving. They're profitable even though they're in 2 of the most competitive and lowest average profit automotive segments in the world and their products last forever. Yet there's some unusual things going on with Honda that I think is worth paying attention to: - I'm frequently surprised, when I leave my local bubble, how few Hondas I see. I remember first noticing it during a few travels to the midwest. At any given stoplight, I could guarantee I wouldn't see a Honda. I'd definitely see an American brands and usually a Toyota. These days I see a surprising number of Hyundais, but outside of what seems to be fairly particular parts of the U.S. Honda vehicles just don't seem to be that common. - I'm even more surprised when overseas how slim the Honda pickings are. I think in a couple-three weeks in London I may have seen 3 Eurostyle civics. Reading UK reviews the reviewers seem so...tepid on the vehicles. Comparing them often unfavorable to notoriously unreliable VW and even worse, Peugeot and Citroën, which are among the few automakers to make Ferraris and Jaguars look like reliable automotive appliances. I'd say this says that UK buyers don't really value reliability, but reviews of UK Fords are full of "if you want a reliable car, this is a good car to get"...which is odd, since Fords, while probably more reliable than most European cars, are not terribly reliable in comparison to Japanese cars (there about as good as Korean cars are these days). - In Continental Europe I can't remember seeing more then 1, despite months all over. In Korea, the American spec Accord was about as popular as a Japanese car can be. But I've seen more Landrovers in Korea that Hondas. - On the flip side, their Japanese rival Toyota, is just about everywhere. The Hilux is especially ubiquitous in harsher climates. I even owned one for a bit (they're not nearly as indestructible as Top Gear makes them appear) and it was fine. - Honda runs a surprisingly public and aggressive R&D program. Everything from fuel cells to humanoid robots. The first in-car navigation system ever was made by Honda. But they seem to take forever before they trickle this tech into their cars. The moment of commercialization for them seems to be a generation or two after everybody else is doing it. All of these things make me think Honda still has huge growth potential. If consumers start to value what Honda is offering, they could easily be a #1 or #2 in the world maker. As it is, consumer simply value other things (big engines, styling, name cachet, whatever). I think Honda takes an unusually measured approach in the industry. The last couple generations seem strangely out of character. I've got this down to two events: 1. The rise of Korean cars. The weird stylish Accord and Civic from that period, with their bizarre button filled, non-ergonomic dashes. 2. Fukushima. The Honda generation from that period are almost a return to form, but they seem oddly unfocused in design. However, but golly if the current generation seems like Honda back in form. Boring, reasonably prices, unbelievably reliable appliances you ride in reasonable comfort from a->b.

cpursley 12y ago
Your last comment is the reason we (my wife) bought our second Honda after considering several other makes. The new Fit just feels like what a Honda is supposed to be. Also, as a Toyota Tacoma owner with a bazillion miles, man, I'd love to own a turbo-diesel Hilux which is available in basically every country except the United States.
acomjean 12y ago
Hondas are very common in Massachusetts. Hondas seem to be more expensive than comparable cars from other makes (They do seem to last longer though). As an happy honda Element owner, after they canceled that model I'm starting to wonder what my next car will be.
m_mueller 12y ago
In Switzerland I see them relatively often. Their current overall market share here is 2.4%. For comparison, Ford has 5.4%, Toyota 4.7%. Maybe the variety here is a bit unique, even the largest brand Volkswagen only has 11.5%. Having tried many different brands thanks to carsharing (also very popular here), I have to say that one thing is a bit strange in Hondas - the controls, as in switches, are a bit different from what most Europeans are used to. At least for me it took the longest to get used to it compared to many other brands. It seems they are less adapted from the Japanese base models, which would speak against the article - maybe Honda did a better job in other markets than EU.
- bane 12y ago
  > I have to say that one thing is a bit strange in Hondas - the controls, as in switches, are a bit different from what most Europeans are used to. I had use of a couple of Audis years ago and could never get used to the controls. It seemed like everything was designed to be in a place I'd either want to rest an arm (and therefore accidentally trigger) or force me to take my eyes off the road and change my body position to operate. One of them, the A3, was particularly terrible, burying the radio controls almost down as low on the dash as you could put it for example. I remember one experience in particular, I was on the A9 from Nuremberg going towards Munich. The car was still pretty new to me, but I'd been driving it pretty steadily for a few weeks. I was listening to the radio, the show changed and all I wanted to do was scan the dial for the next station. I had to lean over with my head virtually below the dash to reach the dial, and it being an Audi there were dozens of buttons and dials. I accidentally hit one of the preset buttons instead of "scan forward" and it switched to an Opera (which I don't particularly care for). I couldn't figure out, while driving how to fix this, accidentally turned the volume up instead of down and ended up with red Audi dash lights blaring me in the face while doing 170kph absolutely blasting Opera music out of the car. Being Germany of course there weren't big American style shoulders for me to pull over on and fix the situation so I had to exit and drive till I found a place to park for 10 minutes to fix this mess. The entire time I was doing this I was thinking of the Hondas, Nissans and Toyotas I had driven right before that, where that entire operation was a glance and a comfortable no-lean reach to the ergonomically placed controls that were just at arms reach away. The Audis were fun cars to drive, but knowing that doing something like changing the radio station might put my life at risk, I decided never to buy one. So yeah the switches are definitely in different places, but I think that they're in better places overall.

chiph 12y ago

This really reads like a PR plant. Honda (the company) is no longer like what it was under Soichiro Honda. The bad reception of the 2012 Civic¹ was somewhat of a wakeup call for them, but they have been late to market with gasoline direct injection (GDI) motors, and there aren't any American-spec diesels in development (the Pilot, Odyssey, and possible refresh of the Ridgeline could really use the torque). Given the trend (a new chairman every 5-6 years), we should expect to see new leadership at Honda soon, and perhaps he will speed up product development, and return more of the decision making to the engineers. Surprising rumors are that they have licensed the ZF 9-speed transmission, which will really help with the fuel economy. And give the Pilot gearing that will help it off-road (the 9-speed often starts off in a higher gear, leaving 1st and/or 2nd for a simulated "low range"). I was expecting them to go with one of the Aisin models, actually. This is a big cultural change for Honda, as they have traditionally designed and built their own transmissions. Given the stupendous cost of creating a new automatic transmission (well over a billion dollars), this will free up a lot of capital for them. ¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(ninth_generation)#2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_(ninth_generation)#...

itazula 12y ago

The book, Driving Honda, is a great read. If being a successful start-up means making the best use of the resources around you, and being acutely aware of the status quo, yet willing to challenge it through real engineering, then Shoichiro Honda exemplified that way of being. And as a foil to the destruction of a company's culture, there was none better than Takeo Fujisawa (read the book to know why).