Honda says it’s not a ‘quantity model’, but it surely’s not utilizing its upmarket standing as a purpose to not develop gross sales in Australia, the place it says the CR-V has the potential to topple the Toyota RAV4 from its throne.
The Japanese model’s native gross sales within the first seven months of 2025 have put Honda on track to promote greater than 15,000 autos this 12 months, which might can be its greatest end result since adopting a controversial company gross sales technique in the midst of 2021, a 12 months by which it offered 17,562 autos.
However that’s nonetheless a far cry from its pre-COVID days when it persistently offered greater than 40,000 autos yearly, together with a peak of over 60,000 gross sales in 2007.
Whereas the swap to company gross sales, which launched fastened drive-away costs nationally and possession of autos by Honda reasonably than its sellers, got here with a decrease annual gross sales forecast of round 18,000 autos, Honda Australia continues to be to succeed in that quantity.
Nonetheless, below the brand new management of CEO Jay Joseph and managing director Rob Thorp, each of whom took up their respective positions in April 2025, Honda says it has no intention to turn into a quantity model as soon as once more.
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“We’ve earned this area of interest of not simply being a mainstream model that’s simply promoting quantity on value, however due to the inherent qualities and tech innate qualities of our merchandise,” Mr Joseph advised CarExpert.
“We’ve earned a spot the place there are premium mainstream merchandise. Honda will not be attempting to reposition itself as a quantity model – that isn’t our aspiration – however so far as the area we occupy right here, we don’t behave like a quantity model as a result of we don’t have to, as a result of our price proposition isn’t just the product and never simply the worth, but it surely’s how we care for clients.
“[But] Don’t get me fallacious – now we have quantity potential.”
Mr Joseph spoke of “aggressive” gross sales development for the model, however – whereas many vehicle manufacturers together with new Chinese language entrants publicly state their gross sales forecasts and even their desired rank on the Australian gross sales charts – Honda is not going to.
“We’re not placing a quantity on it, however we’re fairly bold with our development plan,” Mr Thorp advised CarExpert.
“We expect we’ve obtained a present product portfolio, plus a variety of fashions that we’re capable of carry to market that’s going to offer us the chance to extract extra development out of this model, and significantly the expansion I feel it deserves.
“All of it comes right down to our potential to execute on the standard of the product that we’re going to have entry to – that turns into the problem within the present atmosphere.”
Honda Australia presently sells solely 5 fashions – the small Civic hatchback, the mid-size Accord sedan, and the HR-V small SUV and ZR-V and CR-V mid-size SUVs – but it surely just lately outlines a future product plan together with the discharge of extra hybrid powertrain choices for its best-selling CR-V lineup to deal with the top-selling, hybrid-only Toyota RAV4.
It additionally confirmed the born-again Honda Prelude sports activities automotive – with a hybrid powertrain – for Australian launch in 2026, when it would additionally launch its first electrical automobile (EV).
Whereas Mr Thorp and Mr Joseph confirmed the corporate is eager on the Honda 0 Sequence vary of EVs for Australia, they cautioned that the 0 Sequence (and the Prelude) received’t be volume-sellers.
As a substitute, the Honda Australia management crew pointed to hybrid-powered mid-size SUVs, particularly the CR-V, as its largest development potential.
“We all know that the CR-V is the perfect automobile on this section – the CR-V hybrid is the very best automobile within the section by way of driving efficiency and flexibility, and the general worth proposition,” Mr Joseph stated.
“After we take a look at how we care for the client after the sale – low-cost servicing, resale worth – if you take a look at all of that collectively, apart from the very fact it’s the perfect driving automobile in its section… if it’s the perfect automobile in its section, why wouldn’t or not it’s the best-selling automobile in that section?
“I feel that’s the place to begin. We take a look at these issues after which if we are able to make the changes that may be the best-selling automobile within the section.
“That’s our potential. That’s how we take a look at that – and that’s what we must always obtain.”
To July this 12 months the CR-V has notched up 3592 gross sales (down 11.2 per cent year-on-year), whereas the RAV4 – Toyota Australia’s top-selling mannequin and the nation’s favorite SUV in 2024 – discovered 28,449 new properties (down 9.2 per cent).
