Why Honda Australia's 2022 sales figures could change the way you buy new cars forever
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Why Honda Australia's 2022 sales figures could change the way you buy new cars forever

Why Honda Australia's 2022 sales figures could change the way you buy new cars forever

The 11th generation Civic small hatchback is Honda Australia's latest model.

Honda's success or failure in the 2022 sales race has the potential to have huge implications for how you buy new cars going forward.

As reported, the Japanese brand has radically changed the way it does business in Australia. He abandoned the traditional dealer structure and instead adopted the so-called "agency model" for selling his vehicles.

In short, what this means is that Honda Australia now controls the entire fleet and you, the customer, buy directly from them, while the dealer is now mainly handling test drives, delivery and service.

Other brands will watch with interest as customers and dealers embrace this new way of doing business. If it works, it will push more car companies to move to the agency model, but if that doesn't work, it will give car dealers more room in future negotiations.

While car manufacturers are forging alliances with dealers and putting on a happy face in public, behind the scenes there is dissatisfaction that a car brand has no direct control over the customer experience - that's the dealer's role.

While this is not done to slander car dealers or stigmatize everyone with the same negative brushwork, the lack of control has resulted in more and more car brands looking for ways to gain more influence when buying cars.

Mercedes-Benz Australia is another brand using the agency's model after initially experimenting with it with its electric EQ models, while Genesis Motors Australia controls its retail operations and Cupra Australia will do the same.

But Honda Australia is leading the way, having spent much of 2021 reshaping how it does business in Australia, so it will be the first mainstream brand to see the showcase of what this new model means.

Initial signs were not good as the transition and other coronavirus-related delays saw the brand's overall sales drop by almost 40% in 2021 (39.5% to be exact). This was also not helped by the company's decision to abandon the compact City and Jazz models, as well as to introduce a new Civic model line at the end of the year.

In total, Honda Australia has sold just 17,562 new vehicles in 2021 in 40,000, a significant drop from just over XNUMX sold five years ago and trailing relative newcomer MG and luxury brand Mercedes-Benz. It also puts it at risk from brands like LDV, Suzuki and Skoda in the coming years as these brands continue to grow.

This does not mean that Honda is in constant decline. In fact, the move to a new sales model is designed to keep the brand more profitable even as it sells fewer cars. 

The signs of the final months of 2021 have been positive for the company, with Honda Australia director Stephen Collins pleased with the trends he has seen.

“November was effectively the first full month of relatively normal trading conditions for our new national network of Honda centres, especially in key urban areas of Melbourne and Sydney, resulting in more sales contracts signed and more vehicles delivered to customers, as well as an increased level of customer inquiries. ' he said in January.

“Through our new 'live' customer feedback system, we saw that 89% of customers strongly agree that buying a new Honda was exceptionally easy, and 87% gave the new sales experience a top score of 10 or 10 out of XNUMX. ".

In 2022, the Japanese brand will have several important new models to help it grow, namely the next-generation HR-V compact SUV.

Why Honda Australia's 2022 sales figures could change the way you buy new cars forever The 2022 Honda HR-V will be offered with a hybrid powertrain.

Already on sale in Europe, the new HR-V is available for the first time with a hybrid engine under the e:HEV badge.

Adding more electrified models will be an important step for Honda, which was an early proponent of hybrids but has seen only limited success. Market demand for hybrid models is currently higher, especially among SUVs, so offering an HR-V e:HEV would probably be a smart move.

Honda Australia also has plans to expand the Civic lineup in '22 with an all-new Civic Type R hot hatch that brings a bit of excitement to its look. The reference front-wheel-drive subcompact car should hit local showrooms by the end of 2022, and the Civic lineup will also expand with the addition of the e:HEV, a “self-charging” hybrid model, due earlier.

Why Honda Australia's 2022 sales figures could change the way you buy new cars forever The new generation Civic Type R features more mature styling than its predecessor.

In the long term, a new CR-V should arrive by 2023, which is arguably the brand's most important model considering it competes with the popular Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and Mazda CX-5.

If Honda Australia is able to enjoy a successful year in 2022, it could have far-reaching implications for the entire industry as more brands try to take advantage of its way of doing business.

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