Market reports – Honda: mixed results – Pre-owned HONDA

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Honda: mixed results

Market reports - Honda: mixed results - Pre-owned HONDA

Contrasting results for the world No. 1, which grew 62.2% in 125 cc to become the leader of the French market, while in large-displacement sales, its sales fell by 21.4%. Explanations.

Contrasting results for the world No. 1, which grew 62.2% in 125 cc to become the leader of the French market, while in large-displacement sales, its sales fell by 21.4%. A contrasting result, somewhat like the brand’s communication in 2004: very focused on the general public, in particular young people and motorists, it affects less the traditional biker. Explanations.

Moto-Net: You are the leader in 125 cc and you are growing faster than a market that is already growing strongly. How do you explain this success ?
Gil Michel, Honda France communications director: It is first and foremost a communication strategy. For more than 125, we advertise only in the motorcycle press. But for the 125, you have to reach a different audience. For the first eight months of the 2004 financial year (from April 1 to November 30), we communicated 38% in the motorcycle press and the 125 cc press, 53% in the general press (auto, sports, people and daily) and for 9% in the press 50 cc and young people. There is also a product strategy: the sporty 125 was moribund with an old and expensive offering: NSR, RS and Mito. We have come up with a new and attractive product. The sales target was 1,800 to 2,000 machines and we have already sold 3,735! We must also underline the flexibility of our production equipment, which was able to keep up with the demand for this exclusive European product produced in Thailand..

Moto-Net: Your offer is being displayed at very competitive prices, this is new for Honda ?
G. M.: This is the Honda system: a flexible, worldwide offshore production system to offer the right products at the right prices. The prices we display are not discounted, this is because we have controlled our costs while preserving quality. It is a long term action that is bearing fruit today. Everyone remembers the setbacks of the first Italian Honda. It’s an old memory today and we ensure the same quality as in Japan in any country. Thus, it is because it is made in India that we can offer a Honda Lead for € 1,620. The CG and XR are produced in Brazil, the Varadero in Barcelona and the scooter range in Italy. The big riders, those who ride their motorcycles every day, are now the 125 cc and the scooters! Today they are discovering that you can have fun on a motorcycle. They aspire to the best, they will pass the license and they will transform the market for large displacement motorcycles. What they will want is a safe and practical motorcycle, not 150 horsepower and 320mm rotors !

Moto-Net: Why Honda Scooters Sell Less Than Piaggio ?
G. M.: Piaggio is a leader because its sales force is 100% focused on the scooter. At Honda, our network has a very broad offering and has not always fully appreciated the potential of this market. It is up to us to progress in this area…

Moto-Net: Large-wheel scooters are selling well in Italy but not in France, why ?
G. M.: Marketing is not an exact science … The targets of our 125 cc scooters were as follows: the big-wheeled SH125 was for urban men, the @ 125 for women and the Dylan for young and sporty customers. In reality, we find that it is the men who appreciate the @ 125 while the women favor the SH125 … In Italy, a lot of women ride two-wheelers so we sell a lot of "big wheels". But unfortunately this is not yet the case in France.

Moto-Net: In large engines, you lose market share. Did you miss the CBF launch ?
G. M.: We must do our mea culpa. Maybe we got the wrong picture. Too honest with its concept, we put forward the side "motorcycle for all". No doubt we should have let the advertisers who had more marketing ideas do it. But that will change in 2005 with a new decor and a new message. At Honda, we have an honest concept of the entry-level bike. He really is an easy machine, not an unusable monster or a push for crime. The manufacturers are responsible in this area and some seem to forget it.

Moto-Net: In the sports arena, Yamaha has taken the lead with its R1 while the Honda CBR 1000 is lagging behind. A bit like MotoGP this year ?
G. M.: First, the first place of the R1 actually corresponds to the addition of the sales of three motorcycles: R1 2003 + R1 Steelfighter + R1 2004. Then, the fall of sports is also due to the depression communicated by the motorcycle press in start of the year with its alarmist coverage of radar measurements. Many bikers have switched to the big roadster to realize that it is not their thing and return to the sporty one at the end of the year. I do not believe in the death of sportswomen. England and Germany have even more repressive policies and sports are doing very well. Finally, the CBR is definitely the best in competition: we fought for the Superbike title to the end with a private machine. Yet it has been systematically denigrated by the press because being more usable and more suitable for the road, it would inevitably be less efficient on the circuit. As for the real influence of MotoGP results, no one really knows.

Moto-Net: Honda sometimes has the image of a cold monster, efficient but devoid of passion. As you explain ?
G. M.: It’s wrong ! This is an image given by the press because we are the biggest manufacturer. But our engineers are passionate, motorcycles are their life. When we win in competition, we talk about the Honda steamroller when we often do not have better means than our competitors. We must put an end to this cliche !

Moto-Net: You seem less active in competition at the national level than your competitors ?
G. M.: We won the Superroadster Cup, the SX trophy, we are organizing the Hornet Cup, the Junior Cup! It is true that we do not lend competition motorcycles to well-known “older people” in order to win at all costs. But that does not prevent us from winning with a 900 in the 1000 category, in addition with a private motorcycle and unanimously criticized by the press, described as inefficient, even dangerous! Sometimes there is something to smile about…

Moto-Net: Precisely, you win, but people don’t seem to be sensitive to it. Why this image deficit in France ?
G. M.: It’s because France is a land of loosers! We don’t like those who win, we support the one who loses. Honda cannot be forgiven for being the best. But better to be N ° 1 in Europe and behind in France than the other way around … Let’s stop staring at each other !

Moto-Net: Honda still lost in MotoGP !
G. M.: Let’s say rather that Rossi retained his title of world champion because without him, the Yamaha is no better than 6th! But the press has learned that Yamaha had brought down Honda … Unfortunately, most journalists are just frustrated riders, they find it difficult to distinguish between man and machine !

Moto-Net: Will you develop your single-brand network ?
G. M.: The important thing is to build a solid network within which dealers can rely on their brand. We need to have a long-term policy, not to multiply the agents to make the figure. In the current market, 235 concessions are sufficient. If we go to 30,000 sales we will see. Every day professionals want our panel, it allows you to select !

Moto-Net: Some dealers complain about not having the right products, how do you answer them? ?
G. M.: The products, you have to work to sell them! 30 years ago, a Honda cyclo or a 4-pot, we lined up to buy it. Now we have to work: showcase, offer credits, etc. It ties in with what I was telling you about scooters: some professionals have not understood the potential of certain new markets.

Moto-Net: Your forecasts for 2005 ?
G. M.: We are not going to stop there! We are releasing a muscular novelty in January, then the novelties seen in Bologna, and finally the Paris show…

Interview by Benoît LACOSTE

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