New Civic and CR-V models keep Honda buoyant
Hiroshi Toda, president of Honda Automobile (Thailand), gives two big thumbs up in pride and satisfaction at the 1.8-litre Honda Civic and 2.4-litre four-wheel-drive CR-V both winning Thailand Car of the Year awards for their categories. Strong demand for
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Honda Automobile (Thailand) has received record bookings for its latest Civic model, while the all-new CR-V has also received an overwhelming reception, the company said yesterday.
Since their launch, Honda has delivered more than 44,500 new Civics and more than 4,000 new CR-Vs in Thailand. Thailand's second-largest manufacturer and exporter of passenger cars said it had sold 15,337 vehicles in the first three months of the year, an 11.1-per-cent share of passenger-vehicle sales in the period. Of the total, 12,758 units were passenger cars, giving it a 33.8-per-cent share in this segment. The Civic, at 6,303 units, was the highest-selling model of passenger car in the first quarter, while sales of the third-generation CR-V increased 16-fold from the same period last year. "Sales of the two best-selling models have exceeded our expectations," said Hiroshi Toda, president of Honda Automobile (Thailand). "The number of bookings that we receive from our dealers nationwide continues to amaze us, and has helped us minimise the downturn in our business due to current economic sentiment and high oil prices." Honda's positive report comes amid fears that the domestic auto market might register negative growth this year due to a slump in demand. While local auto companies have remained bullish on the export outlook so far, they have set a rather low growth target of just 3 per cent for domestic sales this year. Toda added that Honda had kept up steady production at its Ayutthaya plant to ensure that each vehicle manufactured met stringent quality standards and checks. One of Honda's global manufacturing sites, the plant has an annual capacity of 120,000 vehicles and is one of the most technologically advanced and fully integrated Honda facilities in the region. The strong demand for the new Civic and CR-V placed Thailand as the No-1 market among Honda operations in the Asia and Oceania region. The Civic and CR-V are two of Honda's most successful global flagship models. More than 17 million Civics have been sold worldwide since 1972, while the CR-V has found 2.5 million buyers in 160 countries since its launch in 1995.
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