Younger audience to drive volume for Honda
The carmaker sold 55,660 units in the UK last year, a 2.7% increase on 2012’s 54,208 sales, and helped by the 1.6-litre Earth Dreams Technology diesel engine which is available in the British-built Civic hatch and Tourer and CR-V SUV.
Phil Crossman, managing director of Honda UK told Headlineauto the brand has big ambitions for the coming years: ‘I think we can get back up to 70,000 to 80,000 sales a year in the UK within the next couple of years, up from around 55,000 last year,' he said.
Forthcoming launches include an all-new Civic Type R based on the Geneva Motor Show concept, a B-segment SUV based on the Vezel sold in Japan, a new Jazz and a replacement for the iconic NSX supercar. Slow-selling hybrids – the Insight and the CR-Z – are being dropped from the European range as it focuses on locally-produced products.
‘After a few challenging years we have a lot of exciting things coming up over the next year including four new models and of course the re-entry into Formula One. We will start seeing quite a buzz around Honda once again,’ Crossman added.
‘The Type R and NSX, as well as Formula One it will get us in front of a younger audience and hopefully we can then push on for 90,000 sales a year in five years time.’