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Honda agrees to 24% pay raise for Chinese workers

June 1, 2010 at 1:39 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Honda, International News

Things are all okay now at Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co in China as Honda Motor Co. have managed to convince most of its Chinese workforce to continue working with a pay increase of about 24 percent along with benefits.

This is still slightly lower than the 53% increase to 2,300 yuan a month that the worker reps were trying to secure, according to two strike leaders who by the way were fired by Honda after the walkout began on May 17th.

According to Honda, there were still “several dozen’ employees who haven’t accepted the company’s offer and are trying to “disrupt work at the factory”. Nonetheless, most of its 1,990 workers at the Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co. plants will be returning to work allowing the company to partially restart production of transmissions and engine gears.

This will also allow Honda to start operations at all four of the Chinese joint venture final-assembly plants as it was previously shut down due to lack of key components. It looks like Honda have to rethink its calculations about labour practices in China, which previously was an attractive place to produce cars due to cheap costs.

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Honda shuts down Chinese plants due to workers strike

May 29, 2010 at 1:57 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda has shut down production in all its four plants in China due to workers from a parts manufacturing unit going on strike. 1,850 workers making transmissions and engine parts at Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co in Foshan, Guangdong walked out, demanding for higher pay that’s on par with staff from the main car plants. They want salary to be increased to between 2,000 Yuan ($293) and 2,500 Yuan, from the current 1,500 Yuan.

As a result of this strike, Honda, Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, was forced to close two plants in Guangzhou, Guangdong province and factories in Guangzhou and Wuhan, Hubei province. Honda, representatives from the disgruntled employees and government officials in Foshan are having talks to end the strike, and settle the issue, Honda has said.

The parts factory started operating in 2007 and makes transmissions for the Accord, City, Odyssey and Fit models, according to the company. Honda plans to raise production capacity in China by 28% to 830,000 vehicles a year by the second half of 2012 from 650,000 and introduce two new models as car demand grows in the country. Honda sales in China accounted for 17% of its global sales last year. It’s not known how many vehicles have been affected by this problem.

“China is experiencing a labour shortage that’s shifting the natural bargaining power to workers,” said Chang-Hee Lee, a Beijing-based industrial relations specialist at the International Labour Organization.

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Honda suspends Thai operations due to Red Shirt protests

May 24, 2010 at 3:56 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda has suspended operations for a day at two of their factories in Thailand, due to the bloody turmoil created by the Red Shirt protests. One of them is a car manufacturing plant in Ayutthaya while the other is a motorcycle plant in a Bangkok suburb. The company also closed its main office in the capital as the military cracked down on the Reds.

“We’ll decide whether to operate our business on a day-by-day basis, watching the changing situation there,” a Honda spokeswoman told AFP. The Ayutthaya plant churns out around 240,000 vehicles a year, mostly Accord and Civic sedans meant for the domestic market.

After last week’s wave of arson attacks by angry Red Shirts, which consumed buildings such as the Central World shopping landmark and the iconic Siam Theatre, the City of Angels is being cleaned up now, and normal life is starting to resume, along with the traffic jams.

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Honda skeptical of electric cars, to focus on improving fuel efficiency in internal combustion engine

May 20, 2010 at 10:21 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

Honda is skeptical of the electric car as the future of motoring. Tomohiko Kawanabe, president of Honda’s R&D unit, said that “they lack confidence” in EV tech. “It’s questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them,” he went on to say.

“We are definitely conducting research on electric cars, but I can’t say I can wholeheartedly recommend them,” said Kawanabe, who is an engine specialist. Honda will still sell electric vehicles in the US though, but only to help meet California emission rules. From model years 2012 to 2014, the largest carmakers by volume in The Golden State must sell about 60,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric cars combined. Kawanabe stated that their main goal is to improve the fuel efficiency of new and upgraded models.

Honda has been researching battery powered cars since 1988 and started leasing out the EV Plus in the US and Japan before the turn of the millennium. That car used a nickel-metal hydride battery pack which ran 210 km on a single charge, very good even for today’s standards. The company then shifted to hybrids and hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles; Honda believes that the latter is the ultimate zero-emission vehicle.

Honda’s stand is the opposite of what Nissan believes. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is betting big time on an electric future and will roll out 500,000 units per year across the globe from 2012, starting with the Leaf. Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn said that EVs will make up 10% of the global car market by 2020. Who do you think is right?
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Torque Developments supercharger kits for FN Type R

May 19, 2010 at 2:00 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

The Honda Civic Type R, whether in JDM or Euro spec, is famous for its howling, rev hungry i-VTEC engine, which makes trips to the redline so addictive. But when faced with turbocharged Euro hot hatches, the Honda driver will need a lot of hard work and commitment to keep pace due to the relative lack of grunt. Forced induction might be the answer, as suggested by Torque Developments (TD).

The tuning house developed three levels of supercharger upgrades for the 197 bhp 2.0-litre K20AZ3 i-VTEC engine that powers the European Civic Type R hatchback. The conversions are based on a proven package produced in the US by CT Engineering, which has required revisions for right hand drive installation, plus the reworking of major components to ensure optimum fit and performance.


Click to enlarge

The Stage One supercharger was designed to work with the stock air intake and exhaust system, and is a straightforward bolt-on “Roots-style” kit that requires no modifications to engine. This low pressure (4-5 PSI) unit includes a Hondata ECU reflash to optimise ignition and fuel settings plus a carbon fibre fuel rail cover.

Meant to provide “linear boost”, Stage One adds a healthy 75 bhp (to 272 bhp) and bumps torque from 193 Nm to 258 Nm. Weak low end pull is one of the CTR’s weak points; with 90% of max torque available from 3,500 rpm things should be much improved. It costs £4911.50 in the UK, and comes with a 12-month/50,000 km warranty.

Stage Two builds on the above, with the addition of a smaller supercharger pulley to increase boost pressure by a further 3 PSI, larger fuel injectors and extra Hondata ECU remapping, which raises the FN’s rev limit to 8,500 rpm. In addition, a choice of Mugen, Toda Racing or HKS induction kit is “advised” for better performance. Adding 95 bhp (to make 292 bhp) and 85 Nm (to 278 Nm), this kit costs £5955.75.

Stage Three is the same as Two, but with an even smaller pulley for an additional 1 PSI. This ultimate CTR provides 302 bhp and 285-292 Nm of torque to play with. Now that the Honda’s front wheels need to handle significantly more grunt, TD suggests some parts to “retain the cohesive nature of the driving experience”. Cost options include a Wavetrac LSD, Fast Road suspension geometry set up, lowering springs, adjustable coilover suspension and exhaust systems from Toda or Mugen.

The Stage One set sounds quite appealing, as it’s simple, safe and significantly ups performance. Know of any local FD2R with forced induction?

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Honda Civic to live past five years, new model in 2011?

May 18, 2010 at 11:09 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

It has been five years since the current Honda Civic made its debut. So based on the standard 5 year product plan, a new model should be unveiled later this year. Not so, says Honda, which cites changing market conditions and emissions regulations as the reasons behind the pushed back release to 2011.

“In general, we are not changing cycles. We change vehicles as need be. The ability to do something based on more current information is better than waiting a full model cycle. Some of that is being able to have the opportunity to change (based on) what you see happening in the marketplace,” explained John Mendel, American Honda Motor Co’s Executive VP.

The next Civic was supposed to grow in size over the FD2, but Honda COO Tsuneo Tanai said at last year’s Tokyo show that the design had been altered midstream and resized closer to the current car.

Five years already? The current Civic doesn’t feel very dated in our books, and is still very competitive against younger rivals, if not better. Good to hear that it won’t be further enlarged though; those who want a bigger car can get the Accord or an MPV.

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Honda rethinks its future product offerings

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Honda Freed Review – first impressions in Indonesia

April 25, 2010 at 2:28 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Test Drive Reviews

We were in Indonesia earlier this year to briefly try out the new Honda Freed around Honda Prospect Motor’s test track. It was a very short drive but it did give us some sufficient first impressions of Honda’s compact “premium” MPV.
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Li Nian “Everus” sedan – Chinese market Honda concept

April 23, 2010 at 1:12 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, China, Concept Cars, Honda

Honda will be exhibiting this Li Nian concept car at Auto China 2010 in Beijing this year. Li Nian is basically a Chinese market only brand that Honda and their Chinese partner Guangqi Honda Automobile (previously known as Guangzhou Honda Automobile – the namechange happened in April 2009) have been working on.

This is not the first Li Nian car we’ve seen – a compact SUV concept built on the Jazz platform as well as an open top roadster that looks like it’s meant to be a somewhat like a next generation Honda S2000 was first shown at Auto China 2010 in April 2008.

This latest Li Nian Concept is a sedan that I’m assuming is called the “Everus” and it looks something like a Honda City with rear design cues from the Honda Airwave and a large Acura-like grille on the front. The photos don’t really give any indication on what size the vehicle is – the front looks very grand like it belongs on a larger vehicle but the side profile looks like a smaller sedan.

I am guessing that this is the City-based C-segment sedan that Guangqi Honda said they were working on back in September 2008. Honda in China is sold by two companies – Dongfeng Honda and Guangqi Honda. In the C-segment market, the Honda Civic is sold by Dongfeng Honda, leaving Guangqi Honda with no C-segment sedan competitor.

Look after the jump for hi-res images of the new Li Nian.
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Honda Freed “premium compact MPV” – RM112,980

April 22, 2010 at 2:16 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

LATEST: Honda Freed Review – first impressions in Indonesia

Honda Malaysia has launched the Freed, which the company describes as a “premium compact MPV” in a new market segment. The “premium” slant is meant to distance this seven-seater from rivals’ compact MPVs, and the Freed’s price of RM112,980 (OTR with insurance) backs up the positioning – it’s costlier than the Nissan Grand Livina 1.8 and the much larger Toyota Innova, for instance.

The Freed has a unique trump card however – automatic sliding doors that can be operated from the key fob (and from within the car, of course). These doors come with anti-pinch sensors and open to a gap of 600 mm. Honda also points out the low 410 mm height from the ground to the Freed’s floor; this plus grip handles enable easy access for children and the elderly, it says.

The doors open to a “walkthrough cabin” that has four “captain chairs” for the first two rows and third row seats that fold up sideways, like in old scool 4X4s. Up front is a dual layer dashboard with the instrument binnacle situated ahead of the driver. Everything else is in the middle – an aftermarket 2-DIN Alpine stereo with USB port, a chunky gearknob and the air-con controls. The parking brake is a foot brake. Safety kit wise, the Freed comes with dual airbags, ABS with EBD, Brake Assist and “neck-shock mitigation seat” – the latter basically reduces whiplash injury in an accident, although Honda’s term for it sounds very bombastic.

The Freed sits on the Jazz/City platform, although its 2,740 mm wheelbase is quite a bit longer than the City’s 2,550 mm. The wheelbase is actually 140 mm longer than the Grand Livina’s although the Nissan is longer overall. The drivetrain is similar to the what we’re familiar with in the City – a 1.5-litre single-cam i-VTEC paired to five-speed automatic. For this application, the gear ratios are shorter and the 116 bhp/146 Nm engine makes 2 bhp less and 1 Nm more than the City. The steering is EPS, suspension consists of MacPherson struts up front and torsion beam at the rear, while the brakes are front discs and rear drums.

We’ve already driven the Freed and visited the Indonesian plant where it rolls out from, and our impressions and verdict will be coming your way soon. For the meantime, check out the live images from this morning’s launch.
[Read more...]

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Honda Freed set to launch tomorrow – report soon!

April 21, 2010 at 11:59 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

LATEST: Honda Freed Review – first impressions in Indonesia
UPDATE: Honda Freed premium compact MPV launched for RM112,980

Lightly covered Honda Freeds (likely for protection against stone chips and scratches more than anything else) have been spotted on trailers along the highways this whole week, leading up to the launch of the Freed tomorrow morning after of which we’ll be able to tell you all about the car including the finalized prices. The Freed is a B-segment MPV based on the City and Jazz platform and it even uses a similiar 1.5 litre SOHC i-VTEC engine, though power is down 2 PS compared to the City.

Don’t expect the Freed to be an affordable alternative to the Grand Livina though – the positioning is supposed to be ‘premium’ with its dual automatic sliding doors and whatnot. Pricing is expected to breach RM100k significantly for the sole 1.5 litre model while the most expensive 1.8L Grand Livina remains comfortably under it at its RM97,300 price point.

Hat tip to Yoon Sam Choo and Saiful Haziq for the shots!
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