Ontario


	The Japan Times WORLD EYE REPORTS ONTARIO

©THE JAPAN TIMES	Saturday, March 27, 2004

Redefining the concept of localization

Honda’s global business approach has always been to adapt to each country and become as localized and as familiar with that market as possible. In Canada and North America, Honda has raised the bar in taking the local market. Canada ranks third in terms of Honda’s total global production and sales and Honda Canada has become the country’s fourth largest private corporation since starting off as a small sales company 35 years ago.

Honda Canada began local manufacturing in 1986 with only 40,000 units per year. Since then, its output has grown about ten-fold, producing more than 390,000 vehicles in 2003. Last September, Honda Canada also marked an important milestone as its 2-millionth Civic rolled off the production line in September.

“Because our vehicles are driven by Canadians and produced locally, this allows us to receive excellent direct feedback from our customers. About 80 percent of our vehicles sold in Canada are produced in North America, allowing our product design team to make continuous improvements to fit the market. We exclusively produce the Acura MDX and the Honda Pilot in Canada. We also produce the Civic and the Odyssey models here,” says Shigeru Takagi, president and CEO of Honda Canada.

Shigeru Takagi, president and CEO of Honda Canada

The Honda Civic has been the best selling passenger car in Canada for six years in a row, with over 1.1 million Civics sold in Canada over the last 30 years.

“Honda is a very agile company. Despite our size, we still have the mindset of a smaller company so we can move quicker, more efficiently and be more responsive to the market,” says Takagi. “We are most concerned with our customers’ satisfaction throughout the entire purchasing and driving experience. And we want people to be happy Honda customers for life through all of our products, including automobiles, motorcycles, ATVs, marine engines, lawnmowers, snow-blowers, and generators.”

“Through our products, we apply technological advancements that will benefit our customers and society. One of Honda’s focuses is the environment. In 2002, we introduced the Honda Civic Hybrid car in North America. This FCX fuel cell vehicle is currently approved for development in the US. Our ‘safety for everyone’ program is continuing to make Honda vehicles some of the safest in the world. We would like to work together with the Canadian federal and provincial government to support and develop more energy-efficient vehicles and infrastructure for Canada’s future,” explains Takagi.

“Canada has a very good business infrastructure which has laid a great foundation for Honda over the years,” he adds. “Today, we have more than 6,000 associates working in Canada and we feel that this country is full of people who are sincere, respectful and hard working. These are characteristics of both Canada and Honda so we are very proud of what we have achieved thus far and we look forward to continuing to grow together.”

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