2010 Honda BRIO Concept

2010 Honda BRIO Concept

Scheduled to be introduced in Thailand and India in 2011, at the 27th Thailand International Motor Expo starting November 30, 2010. Honda held the world premiere of a prototype of Honda BRIO, the new small-sized vehicle developed for Asian markets.

2010 Honda BRIO Concept

Prototype of Honda BRIO is being developed with Honda's advanced technologies, while further advancing Honda's "man maximum, machine minimum" concept. Being developed as a commuter which is easy-to-use even in urban areas, the prototype of Honda BRIO adopts an easy-to-handle compact body (length 3,610mm x width 1,680mm x height 1,475 mm) while ensuring enough cabin space achieved by highly efficient packaging. Honda thoroughly pursued the creation of an advanced exterior form, which is compact while asserting a strong presence With this vehicle.

2010 Honda BRIO Concept

Honda will develop unique versions for Thailand and India to reflect different customer needs in those markets for the mass-production model, which will be an entry-level car, for which demand is increasing in newly emerging nations. Moreover, Honda will leverage the resources Honda has cultivated through its motorcycle business and utilize local sourcing of parts and materials such as sheet steel with this vehicle.

2010 Honda BRIO Concept

Unique versions for the Indian model that is scheduled to be introduced within 2011, local customer needs for a small car will be reflected and local content will be increased to create a model that achieves a good balance between vehicle performance and price. Unique versions for the Thai model that is scheduled to be introduced in March 2011, the fuel economy of more than 5 liters/100km will be targeted so that the vehicle will qualify as an eco-car by the Thai government, and a starting price of approximately 400,000 baht will be targeted as well.

2010 Honda BRIO Concept

Honda Hit Hard By Global Economic Downturn

Honda Hit Hard By Global Economic Downturn
by Shaun Parker

That pesky recession! Who does it think it is, coming over here, taking our jobs, hitting everyone in the pocket, grabbing all the headlines, making the lives of us Brits a misery? The best way for Britain to cope with the dire straits that is the recession, is to put on a brave face. Britain may not be the best in the world at many things these days, but one thing we are good at is having a laugh in the face of adversity.The latest news that one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, Honda, are to stop production at their British factory in Swindon for the next four months, affecting 75 per cent of Honda’s 4,000 strong British factory workforce.
Honda’s global third quarter net profit has dropped by a staggering 89 per cent, and even though Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced a government support package for the UK car industry which could be up to 2.3 billion pounds, the Japanese car giant has had to go ahead with the longest factory shutdown in recent history.
Many car manufacturers have had to make cut-backs in production simply because demand for brand new cars during these difficult financial times is way below levels of supply - Honda dealers have not experienced such a slowdown in turnover that something just had to give and it makes perfect business sense to cut production, sit back and reflect on how the next quarter pans out.
Despite Honda stating that they jobs are safe, it is common knowledge that over a quarter of factory staff have taken up voluntary redundancy, perhaps as they see no end to the gloom and doom in the near future.
Fears that the halt in production in Swindon may continue past the next four months have been dispelled, or at least there lies some hope, as Honda are going ahead with part orders - a measure that they surely would not take if they felt that production would continue to stop for an even longer time period.
Honda usually produce 240,000 cars from their Swindon factory, but that figure will halve over the course of the next year and elsewhere, global production will be slashed by 56,000 units. Honda is yet to announce whether employees from their other business sectors and departments in the U, such as Honda dealers and administration staff will be affected during the next year, which finance experts are saying will continue in recession, possibly through to 2010.
Honda dealers have obviously experienced a slowdown in business, both in the sale of brand new vehicles - the bread and butter, where the highest margins are made - and also used cars from Honda dealers.
Figures are set to continue to decrease for the duration of 2009 as Honda economists have forecast a net profit for the year to March 2009 to be less than half of its earlier forecast of 185 billion yen. The company’s net profit for the quarter ending December 2008 was 180 billion yen below the mark reached during the same quarter the previous year - a staggering example of just how badly affected the car industry has been since the global economy took a nosedive.
The Swindon factory workforce will obviously be concerned, but will no doubt be putting on a brave face, in true British fashion. Let’s hope, like the global economy, their fortunes can change over the next year.