Honda Motors Company, Ltd., is the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer as well as being one of the world’s major automakers. Honda creates and sells a broad collection of products, from scooters to mini vans to specialty sports cars. They are “dedicated to supplying products of the highest quality, yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction,” which has earned Honda Motors the trust and admiration of customers from around the globe.
Soichiro Honda is the founder of the company. Before founding the innovative Honda Motors, Soichiro earned a living as a mechanic in Art Shokai, a Japanese tuning shop. There, he fixed cars and even entered them in races. He was a self-taught mechanical engineer; he worked on casting a perfect piston ring that he had hoped and attempted to sell to the Toyota Corporation. His first drafts were rejected, but he persevered and was eventually rewarded with a contract with Toyota. He built a factory where he was supposed to build pistons for them. Even though the factory withstood the World War II bombings, it was, unfortunately, later obliterated by an earthquake.
The concept of a building his own motorcycle was birthed during a gasoline shortage in World War II. Because of the shortage, Honda could not use his car; he then thought about attaching an engine to his bike – this idea drew in a lot of curiosity. To generate small 2-cycle motorbike engines, Soichiro constituted the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan around October of 1946. Two years later, after gaining enough capital through his partner and investor, Takeo Fujisawa (who also managed the financial and marketing strategies), his first motorbike, the Honda 50cc Super Cub, was introduced to great success, marking the start of Honda Motor Company, Ltd.
From then, Honda Motors continued to expand and was on the way to becoming the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer. By 1959, Honda opened its first store in Los Angeles and had become the leading Japanese motorcycle manufacturer. In 1959, the company launched a US subsidiary – the American Motor Company, Inc. – instead of relying on distributors, like the other foreign manufacturers.
The company started to expand their horizons in 1963, with the introduction of their first production automobile, the T360 mini pick-up truck. Later, the first production car, the S500 sports car, followed the T360 in production in October. By 1967, they were selling a variety of products, from trucks and cars to portable generators, from lawn mowers to power tillers and outboard motors.
Honda established their name on the international automobile market with the unveiling of the Honda Civic in 1973. Following the Civic’s great success, the company debuted the Honda Accord, an upscale, higher-priced model in 1976. With both cars generating income and positive reviews, the company tried their hand at luxury cars. In 1986, Honda introduced the Honda Acura, Honda’s first luxury car. It acquired large sales, both in Japan and in the United States.
By 1990s, Honda Motor Company, Ltd. had evolved into one of the most superior car manufacturers in the globe. In 1993, it was deemed the third biggest car merchandiser in the United States of America. Since then, Honda has ventured into aerospace, with the release of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004, and the Honda HA -42C HondaJet, scheduled for release sometime in 2011.
Today, Honda Motor Company, Ltd. abides by their basic philosophies: to have “Respect for the Individual” and “The Three Joys,” namely, the Joy of Buying, the Joy of Selling, and the Joy of Creating. These simple principles help them create and market groundbreaking and superior products at a reasonable price since its formation in 1948. This is one of the reasons why their customers value their products and trust them so much. Honda clearly respects and cares about their customers. Not only do they care about the buyers, but they also take into consideration the environment, as well. They are committed to “protecting the environment and enhancing safety in a mobile society.”
As of 2010, the company tries to stick to their principles and social responsibility. Honda is hard at work to improve the quality, safety, and environmental performance of their products. They are also working on developing fuel-cell electric vehicles, battery-powered EVs, and hybrid vehicles (which are, apparently, the most efficacious in lessening CO2 emissions).
As a company who values customer and environmental needs, Honda Motor Company, Ltd., continues to be a leading force in the automobile manufacturers and continues to create innovative and top-notch quality products.
References:
Honda Worldwide | Message. 2011. Honda Worldwide | Message. [ONLINE] Available at: http://world.honda.com/profile/message/. [Accessed 13 May 2011].
Honda Motor Company Limited — Company History. 2011. Honda Motor Company Limited — Company History. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Honda-Motor-Company-Limited-Company-History.html. [Accessed 13 May 2011].
Honda – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2011. Honda – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda. [Accessed 13 May 2011]
Honda Worldwide | Philosophy. 2011. Honda Worldwide | Philosophy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://world.honda.com/profile/philosophy/. [Accessed 13 May 2011]
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