Honda NZ refines sales pitch

The brand that rocked the industry with its ‘Price Promise’ strategy has now gone further still.

WANT to buy a new Honda but not via a dealer?

 From May 1, Kiwis won’t have to. Instead, they can buy the car they want  directly from the manufacturer, from their computer.

The brand that has operated a distinct Price Promise sales model since 2000 has today announced intent to further refine that process.

From the start of next month customers will be able to purchase Honda passenger models directly from Honda, either in a traditional store or via a new e-Commerce platform. 

Any benefits that might arrive from this have yet to be spelled out by the brand. It is also not clear if the Price Promise name will be kept 

“Our independent Honda agents have served the Honda brand incredibly well over many years, and we have greatly valued these relationships during this era,” said Nobuya Sonoda, Honda New Zealand’s managing director.

“The changes we are embarking on in 2021 are about actively managing our operations to ensure they are fit for the future and are reflective of Honda’s long-term commitment to continue investing in our people, operations and our communities.

“By making these changes we are placing our customers at the heart of everything we do, and importantly, putting the purchasing power where it belongs — in the hands of our customers.”

The Honda national dealer network comprises seven Honda-owned branches, plus 17 independently owned agents.  

In its statement, Honda NZ says those independent agents will now be converted either into fully fledged Honda stores, Honda Service Stores, or Authorised Service Stores.

The changes are set to streamline the sales experience across the board, while also decreasing independent involvement in stores outside of major centres.

The strategy is in keeping with what is known as an agency sales model. With this in its purest form, retailers/distributors shift their allegiance with a manufacturer.

Instead of buying a vehicle from the maker for a price usually well below list and so with a built-in margin, they simply accept a fee for each car sold.

It’s a fundamental shift. An agency model means a maker – or in this instance, the distributor - controls car pricing, instead of dealers, giving them a better chance of achieving haggle-free pricing.

Honda NZ took steps toward an agency model 21 years ago with its Price Promise policy, which ensured new-car buyers got the same price on a new Honda no matter who they were, where they lived, and what day of the month they purchased.

 Honda NZ said then that special offers, run-out deals, discounts and end-of-the-month sales all lowered resale values, which in turn affected a vehicle’s depreciation rate.

Back then, the price of a new Honda was also different around the country based on the individual dealer and the customer.

The company argued this led to an inequality. If one buyer received a five percent discount and another a 15 percent discount, the first buyer’s car would have depreciated by an extra 10 percent.

The NZ Price Promise changed that, so the only factors affecting the resale value of a Honda became vehicle age, mileage and condition. The system was designed to make Honda’s vehicles depreciate slower than those of rival brands.

For the dealer, it also meant lower operating costs. It meant dealers could sell any vehicle on order nationally, not just the ones allocated to them, with access to the full Honda range without incurring floorplan costs.

Honda NZ owned all demonstration stock at the dealerships and all the new-car stock.

Toyota New Zealand also has an agency model and other brands are looking at it.

E push restricts to Jazz, but initiatives are not being ignored

Government’s push to promote electric cars could be music to the local Honda distributor’s ears.

Honda’s push with the fourth-generation Jazz (seen here in Japan, as a Fit) will centre on the hybrid, arriving in May.

NO thought yet about whether Honda’s cute ‘E’ electric car could end up on the same play list as the new Jazz incoming soon, but the brand’s local agent says the Government’s clean car initiatives that give clear support to pure battery models are being followed with interest. 

For now, though, the only model being locally represented with any level of ohm drive ability will be a hybrid, landing in May, that seems set to be sold under a ‘Honda e technology’ push.

It’s a tag with potential to cause some confusion about the potential official availability of the retro-styled ‘Honda E’ electric car that, while not represented by the distributor, is nonetheless starting to proliferate as a grey import, in used and as-new parallel product.

Matt Woodburn, marketing and product manager at Honda New Zealand, says his Auckland-domiciled operation is excited to have the hybrid Jazz as a choice within the 2021 line-up that appears set to include several wholly fossil-fuelled variants.

Clarity about this will only avail when details about the range, pricing and specification relating to the fourth-generation model are released.

Honda NZ likely has plenty of options; the car avails in Japan in five different versions. The entry car is the Basic, there's a Home for urban use, a more vibrant Ness (as in Fit Ness), a crossover version called Crosstar and a leather-trimmed Luxe flagship. 

No official availability in New Zealand has not kept the Honda E from arriving.

How those trims correlate to the hybrid drivetrain availability is not clear. 

Jazz is the first Honda to get the new e:Technology branding that will eventually feature on all the firm’s electrified products. 

The Jazz system employs a system similar to the ‘intelligent Multi-Mode Drive’ (i-MMD) set-up used by the CR-V in other markets.

In typical driving situations, rather than driving the wheels directly, the engine acts a generator, sending charge to an electric motor, which tops up a small battery. When more performance is needed, the 1.5-litre petrol engine can drive the wheels directly via a fixed-ratio gearbox. 

While stopping short of expressing exact volume hopes, Woodburn has made clear that he believes the hybrid model will be a winner and “a strong seller”.

“We are excited to be introducing Honda e: Technology … we are sure Kiwis across the country will be impressed by the new model. It’s the biggest change to the Jazz since the first generation launched in 2002,” he asserted.

As for potential to see proper representation of the Honda ‘E’? The model which operates with a rear-mounted electric motor making 315Nm of torque, and up to 113kW, with a claimed range from the 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack of 220km – so, the same as the MINI Cooper SE electric – is definitely a head-turner and has become a highly-talked about brand icon.

Woodburn agrees is “a very exciting and interesting product.”

However, it seems the pathway that have allowed its introduction by independent distributors is a much easier route than the brand’s actual representative must follow.

Head office insistence expressed when the production E first showed, in October 2019, that this model is just for Europe (including the United Kingdom) and Japan seems still to be firm policy.

Woodburn hasn’t shared how his own operation feels about seeing the car here nonetheless and has been guarded in relating, when pressed, what the situation is in respect to it having any involvement should there be servicing or warranty issues with those privately-delivered examples.

“Regarding support for grey imported models, there are many challenges in this space,” he acknowledged. “… but, as with all customers, we strive to support them as best we can.”

In respect to whether last week’s Government announcements might help Honda NZ make a case for including a fully electric product, he offered: “We are closely following the Clean Car announcements and are communicating with Honda Motors to discuss the future.”

Meantime, Honda NZ has also released a heavily revised version of the Odyssey people carrier, in eight-seater Touring and seven chair Premium, respectively priced at $49,990 and $59,990.

The car is based on the same underpinnings as the outgoing version, but takes a comprehensive exterior and interior redesign and new technology, spanning from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto audio integration to dual one-touch power sliding doors, walk away automatic locking, and the Honda Sensing Advanced Safety suite — which avails blind-spot monitoring, cross traffic warning, radar cruise control.

The Premium delivers with leather trim and features additional to those on the Touring include a hands-free kick-to-open power tailgate, gesture control for the sliding doors, memory seating, a climate control screen for second-row passengers, increased interior lighting.

The powertrain for both continues to be a 2.4-litre i-VTEC four cylinder, producing an unchanged 129kW of power and 225Nm of torque and paired to a paddle-shift CVT. There is no talk of the hybrid that sells in Japan being availed for export.

Honda’s baby crossover on battery charge

The next version of the HR-V will be a hybrid.

THE smallest crossover Honda sells here will ditch pure petrol power for an electrified drivetrain.

The change for comes with the third generation of the HR-V, which will be unveiled to the world in mid-February.

 The new model delivers with a bigger badge; it’ll be tagged the HR-V e:HEV.

In delivering this news, Honda has also released some teaser preview images – none showing the entire car, however, with focus instead on detailing.

Today’s announcement has yet to be followed up by comment from the brand’s New Zealand distributor.

Honda Japan says focussing on a hybrid powertrain from launch is in line with its latest corporate strategy.

One specific ambition is to electrify its entire European line-up by 2022. 

Technical details remain unconfirmed, but it is conjected HR-V will likely use a variation of a 158kW/315Nm 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain Honda already has in place in the larger CR-V, though not in New Zealand, or alternately pick up a technically similar system, married to a 1.5-litre and producing 80kW/253Nm, that features in the latest Jazz supermini. That car has also not availed here.

It's possible that, like the electrified CR-V, the HR-V will be available with a choice of front- or four-wheel-drive configurations, the website for motoring magazine Autocar has surmised. 

Honda claims it will pair "high efficiency with refined, fun-to-drive performance".

It’s thought the HR-V to follow the lead of the next Civic hatchback and so feature a minimalist dashboard with a 9.0in touchscreen infotainment system and a raft of new driver aids. 

The HR-V’s full unveiling will occur on February 18.

 The current car has been in production since 2013.

Bonkers now in blue

Honda’s hard-as hottie achieves dynamic updates – and a noise-maker.

STILL plenty of edge – in every sense, including visual – but perhaps a less remitting ride. 

That’s the deal with the MY20 update of the Civic Type R hot hatch in a New Zealand specification announced today, a week ahead of public release.

Revised pricing is also part of the update; at $62,990 the incoming variant costs $3000 more than the pre-facelift edition did at launch in 2017, but is also $2000 cheaper than the ‘Mugen-Equipped’ runout variant. 

General rule for a mid-life refresh is to tweak under the bonnet and perhaps alter the styling, but that doesn’t seem to be Honda’s way for a model that achieved 55 registrations in 2019 and a further 41 this year to date.

Unless you spot one in the one new colour, an effervescent sky blue, the best way to distinguish the MY21 Type R might be by driving feel. In that sense, it’ll be more about the dynamics than the power delivery.

The revision bypasses engine bay alteration, so it’s the same 2.0-litre still creating 228kW at 6500rpm and 400Nm from 2500rpm to 4500rpm, continuing to operate purely through a six-speed manual.

The origami styling is also largely unaltered, save for minor tweaks – perhapsonly the sharp-eyed will even spot the reshaped bumpers, an altered grille, the addition of some body-coloured accent blades, different surrounds for the driving lights.

So how has Honda’s team earned its dough?

Mainly through reworking the dynamics, which admittedly were already pretty good, and improving the ride quality – which, in original form, was a touch f-f-f-f-firm.

Aiming to reconcile the latter and further sweeten the first is the revised adaptive suspension, which now evaluates road conditions 10 times faster thanks to a damper software update. Result? Better handling response, better ride quality, Honda claims. 

The company also says stiffer front and rear bushings have resulted in sharper steering feel for better control and improved toe-in characteristics when cornering respectively, with the former achieved alongside new lower-friction ball joints.

An upgraded braking system is also implemented, with new two-piece floating front discs fitted alongside fresh pads with a more fade-resistant material.

Brake stroke has been reduced by about 17 percent (or 15mm) under heavy loads, leading to a more immediate pedal feel, according to the company. The updated set-up decreases unsprung mass by around 2.3kg. 

The altered grille improves engine cooling and a revised radiator core also helps to reduce coolant temperature by up to 10 percent in high-demand scenarios.

Inside, the car now has an Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel and a new shift lever for the six-speed manual with a teardrop-style knob and an Alcantara boot. A 90g internal counterpart has been added to the latter to better feel and accuracy.

An updated 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system is also implemented, with physical shortcut buttons and a volume control knob now part of the package.

That might not excite rev-heads, but how about the following?

Drivers keen to keep track of their driving data will doubtless delight in the new LogR software, an app for an Apple or Android phone which can monitor performance, log lap times and score drive behaviour.

Also, though the engine hasn’t been altered, the impression of the sound it makes has.

An Active Sound Control is an exhaust noise enhancer; the idea seems to be that the sound system’s speakers emit additional and artificial noise during aggressive driving in the Sport and  Plus R modes but refines it further in the Comfort setting.

And, yeah, there’s the new colour, seen here: Boost Blue Pearl.

Clever bricks recreate Mt Panorama

Honda has laid claim to a Holden versus Ford battleground.

BUILDING a Lego race car … well, who hasn’t done that?

Creating a famous race circuit with those plastic bricks is a different story.

As a promo for its Lego Masters television programme, Australia’s Channel Nine has team with our neighbour’s Honda distributor and a professional assembler to create the Mt Panorama circuit at Bathurst, New South Wales, out of the interlocking materials, but with a twist to suit the backer.

Mount Hondarama is a neat follow-up to last year’s commission involving the car brand and Ryan ‘The Brickman’ McNaught, a life-sized Civic Type R hot hatch, as just on a year ago former Formula One champion Jenson Button set a benchmark lap time for a front-wheel drive production car around the famous Bathurst layout.

Obviously Mt Hondarama isn’t to the same life-sized scale as the real thing, but its still pretty substantial, being 3.3 metres long and 1.8 metres wide, weighing approximately 210kg and involving a team of eight builders, who used more than 150,000 bricks and were working for more than 650 hours.

So, a big job, but still rather less of a challenge than the Civic Type R, which used more than 320,000 bricks and took more 1300 hours.

Adding to the special flavour is the use of extremely rare LEGO remote control cars.

“The biggest challenge for us this year is the fact that we’ve got lots of moving pieces. Moving parts are very challenging to do with LEGO, let alone having cars actually racing around a LEGO model,” said ‘The Brickman’, who is credentialed as a ‘LEGO Certified Professional’.

“Our mantra is to grab people’s attention with something obvious and then hold their attention with lots of special details and fun things. One of the great things about LEGO bricks is that you can bring dreams to life and that’s exactly what we’ve been able to do with all of Honda’s products.”

Robert Thorp, Honda Australia’s general manager of product, customer and communications, views the work as being “a Honda dreamscape, a graphic representation to reflect Honda’s values and the joy of creating.”

Mount Hondarama includes many of Honda’s most recognised products transformed into LEGO, including its latest cars, motorcycles and power equipment, along with some iconic cars from years gone by. There is also a Honda dealership and service centre, a F1 car to represent Honda’s global motorsport activities, as well as the truly unique HondaJet, which is the fastest, highest-flying, quietest and most fuel-efficient jet in its class. But no sign of bogans along Skyline.

Seven-seater CR-V coming

The CR-V family unit has grown – a new generation of Honda’s compact crossover will deliver extra strength in the seat count.

ONE edition within the new Honda CR-V range set to come on sale in July will deliver something new for the model – an extra row of seats.

Honda New Zealand has confirmed it will introduce a seven-seat version of the all-new car, but for now only in front-drive format.

The trim specification of this first-time format has yet to be provided. The car will place alongside several front and all-wheel-drive versions that continue to configure in the more familiar five-seat format.

The variant is expected to go head to head with other mid-size seven-seat SUVs including the just refreshed Nissan X-Trail, Mitsubishi’s Outlander and Volkswagen’s impending Tiguan Allspace. 

The fifth-generation CR-V takes just one powertrain, a 140kW/240Nm ‘Earth Dreams’ turbo-petrol VTEC engine, paired with a continuously variable transmission.

This engine is an uprated version of the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol unit that powers the new Civic that was launched last year in sedan guise and arrives next month as a hatchback. It’s the first turbo petrol for the car.

Honda has promised this fifth gen car will build on the characteristics of the previous CR-Vs, such roominess, flexibility and “off-highway” capability.

The model has an all-new platform, will offer “benchmark steering precision, ride comfort, body control and cabin quietness,” according to the Japanese car-maker. 

The model is 14mm shorter than the model it replaces, but the wheelbase is about 40mm longer, and it is close to 30mm lower and about 35mm wider than the fourth-gen car.

All wheel drive models feature an upgraded Real Time AWD System with a significant increase in maximum rear wheel torque delivery and new electronic control allowing stepless control in everyday driving conditions and further improved all weather confidence and control.  

“The new Honda CR-V raises the bar in every way, delivering more style, performance, economy, space, safety, connectivity and premium interior than ever before,” said Nadine Bell, General Manager Marketing, Honda New Zealand.

“Customers are going to love what they see and what they experience behind the wheel of this new CR-V.”