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New Honda Insight is the best-selling car in Japan… for April 2009

May 12, 2009 at 9:51 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Honda Insight

After two months of sales in Japan with about 4,000 units each month, Honda Insight sales suddenly jumped up to 10,481 units in April 2009, making it the 1st in a monthly ranking of all new vehicle registrations in Japan! Yes, the new Insight is Japan’s best-selling car in April 2009, and the first time in history for any hybrid car to take that spot for a monthly sales period.

The Insight took the throne from March 2009′s sales leader, another car from the Honda stable – the Honda Fit (known as the Honda Jazz here in Malaysia). It sold 9,443 units in March and was also the best-selling car in the entire of 2008, the fiscal year ending March 2009, and also monthly sales for 4 months since December 2008.

I wonder why the sudden registration (a sale/booking is not a registration) jump – it could be that Honda suffered production issues in the first two months?

Related Posts:
MUGEN unveils aerodynamics zero-lift Honda Insight

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Honda City Coupe 1.8 i-VTEC Artist’s Impression

April 21, 2009 at 3:00 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Honda

Honda City Coupe
Click for larger image

Correct me if I am wrong but I think the only coupes that Honda still sell are in the US, where both a Civic Coupe and the Accord Coupe are available.

Theophilus Chin whipped up this impression of a Honda City Coupe, which could be quite fun here in Malaysia as a sportier model available with the 1.8 litre SOHC i-VTEC paired to a manual gearbox.

Honda City Coupe
Click for larger image

The City is already offered in China with the 140 PS engine so it should be very easy to fit in. But during these troubled economic times perhaps such niche models are not possible even if they studied it internally in the first place, so this would most probably stay as what it is, some fun with Photoshop.

Actually if you do a double take, just like how the new Kia Forte looks a little similiar to the City, the City Coupe looks rather like a Kia Koup, doesn’t it?

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Honda Dreams Fund deadline extended to 15 April

April 6, 2009 at 12:01 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

Honda Dreams Fund

Honda Malaysia today announced the extension of the deadline for submission of applications for Honda Dreams Fund (HDF) to April 15, 2009. The original deadline for HDF is 31st March 2009. This is in order to provide more people with the opportunity to apply. The HDF is a non-binding, full scholarship offered by Honda Malaysia.

The Honda Dreams Fund covers tertiary education fees and provides for allowances to meet living expenses for the duration of their courses. It is open to Malaysians aged between 17 – 24 years of age who have at least completed and passed the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination. Strong academic results are encouraged but not a deciding factor.

Honda Dreams Fund

Candidates must not be receiving any bursaries or financial aid from other organizations, agencies or government. To apply, candidates are required to write an essay on their aspirations in realizing their dreams in not more than 500 words. More details at the HDF website, or download the application form.

Currently in its third year, the Honda Dreams Fund was created to give underprivileged young Malaysians a chance to fulfil their dreams and achieve a better future through education. This year, the HDF team travelled to rural villages in Kedah, Pahang and Sarawak as well as to schools located in the Klang Valley in order to extend the reach of the scholarship and to reach out to more people.

Read more if you like after the jump.
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Honda Nationwide Mobile Roadshow 2009

April 6, 2009 at 3:45 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

Honda Civic

If you can’t make time to head to a Honda showroom, Honda will bring the showroom to you with its nationwide mobile roadshow set to be held around Malaysia from March to August 2009. Honda will be showing the new facelifted Civic 1.8, Civic 2.0 and Civic Hybrid, as well as the new City, the Accord, the new Jazz and the new Stream RSZ. The next roadshow (at time of posting) is scheduled for this Friday at Batu Pahat’s BP Mall.

Date Town Venue
19 – 22 March Mutiara Damansara The Curve
27 – 29 March Kulai IOI Mall
3 – 5 April Melaka Tesco, Melaka Central
10 – 12 April Batu Pahat BP Mall
17 – 19 April Kluang Jalan Durian (opposite Kluang Mall, beside CIMB)
24 – 26 April Seremban A&W Seremban
8 – 10 May Tangkak Dataran MDT
15 – 17 May Alor Setar Alor Star Mall
22 – 24 May Seberang Prai Tesco Extra, Seberang Jaya
28 – 30 May Kulim Landmark Central Shopping Mall
4 – 6 June Kota Bharu Open air car park (next to Tesco)
12 – 14 June Tawau Giant Supermarket
19 – 21 June Labuan Financial Park
26 – 28 June Kuching The Spring Shopping Mall
3 – 5 July Kuantan East Coast Mall
10 – 12 July Temerloh Open air car park (next to Celcom building)
17 – 19 July Ipoh Kinta City Shopping Centre
31 July – 2 August Teluk Intan Leaning Tower
7 – 9 August Taiping Taiping Sentral
14 – 16 August Klang AEON Bukit Tinggi
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Blue Energy Co Ltd: Honda and GS Yuasa JV

March 25, 2009 at 9:07 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Honda Yuasa

GS Yuasa and Honda have announced the name of their new JV company – Blue Energy Co Ltd. It will be established on the 1st of April 2009 and will focus on the manufacturing, sales and R&D activities for high-performance lithium-ion batteries aimed at hybrid vehicle usage.

Blue Energy will be based in Minami-ku, Kyoto and will have 3 billion yen of capital, with a possible increase of capital and capital surplus to 15 billion yen. The investment will be 51% GS Yuasa and 49% Honda Motor. Its president and CEO will be Masahiko Oshitani from GS Yuasa.

A factory for Blue Energy wlil be built next to GS Yuasa’s existing site in Osadano, Kyoto. Blue Energy’s first manufacturing job will be the GS Yuasa EH6, a lithium ion battery that has already been developed.

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Honda Civic Modulo kit for the 2009 facelift

March 19, 2009 at 4:52 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

Honda Civic Modulo Facelift

With the update of the Civic to the latest facelifted generation in Malaysia, Honda has introduced a matching Modulo kit to go with it. Above is how the new Civic facelift with the bigger grille and Type R-ish bumper looks like with the Modulo bits slapped on.

The whole package consists of a front lip, a rear lip and side skirts with a trunk spoiler to finish it off, costing a total of RM 5,000 which you can package into your hire purchase loan. In addition, other than the package there are some other separate bits like an illuminated side step for RM 690 and a trunk tray for RM 330.

With the Modulo kit added, the OTR prices become RM 119,980 and RM 134,980 for the Civic 1.8S and Civic 2.0S respectively. Look after the jump for the individual bits including individual pricing.
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New Honda Civic facelift launched in Malaysia!

March 19, 2009 at 3:20 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

Honda Civic Facelift

After its initial launch in March 2006, the Honda Civic has been facelifted in Malaysia. It continues as a locally assembled model from Honda’s Pegoh plant and is available in two variants, the Civic 2.0S and Civic 1.8S.

There are not much changes to the car really, it’s only an aesthetics update. It could be a case of overengineering with the first edition with the aim for it to be so far ahead of its rivals, with not much budget or reason to change left for the facelift. Or a recession “facelift”. There is a new front bumper that is reminiscent of the Civic Type R’s, as well as a new larger grille. The headlamps are now smoked.

Civic Facelift

Minimal changes on the rear, only with a minor change in the tail lamp design where it uses a diamond-shaped design instead of a round one now. The alloy wheels for the 17 inch model have also been updated to the 10-spoke design you see above, and they look quite chrome-ish shiny instead of matte in real life.

Civic FabricOn the interior, only the Civic 1.8 gets updated with a new design for the fabric seats. The colour remains similiar to the outgoing pre-facelift version but there is now a pattern, so no more bathroom towel interior (photo left, click to enlarge).

The Civic is available in Crystal Black Pearl, Alabaster Silver Metallic, Sparkle Gray Pearl and Bold Beige Metallic. As I understand there will be a new shade of blue coming later. As for pricing – RM 129,980.00 OTR with insurance for the Honda Civic 2.0S and RM 114,980.00 OTR with insurance for the Civic 1.8S. Warranty is a total of 3 years or 100,000km and there is also a 6 months or 10,000km free service package. The battery is warrantied for 2 years or 40,000km.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the Civic.
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Audi-style headlamps for 2008 Honda Accord

March 17, 2009 at 3:52 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda

Honda Accord Audi Headlamps

Who says Honda Accord drivers want to grow up to be BMW drivers? Ditto about Toyota Camry drivers wanting to become E-Class drivers for that matter. I really must salute the makers of these accessories for their creativity. Pix thanks to tokmoh.

53 Comments      

Honda Freed Indonesian production for ASEAN

March 11, 2009 at 4:10 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda Freed

Honda used to have a compact MPV called the Honda Mobilio which was similiar to the likes of the Grand Livina and the Toyota Passo Sette, where a B-segment monocoque car was stretched and made into a 7-seater compact vehicle. The Mobilio was based on the Honda Jazz/City platform but its styling was just too Japanese and model clinics conducted in this region resulted in not too favorable responses.

Now with the Honda Freed, there is a product that could be suitable for this region. I know alot of you have also noticed this when it was unveiled last year and many speculated that it would eventually end up on Malaysian shores, and now there is a strong possibility that might just happen! This is because Honda has announced that it will be building the Honda Freed in Indonesia at its plant in Karawang beginning June 2009, and exports to multiple Southeast Asia countries will begin by the end of the year.

Parts and components for the Indonesian-built Honda Freed will be procured from multiple ASEAN countries including Malaysia, which could be plastic components according to sources. Parts will also come from the Thailand and Philippines, making this a truly made in ASEAN car. We could see the Freed introduced in Malaysia next year or even by the end of this year, but that all depends on market conditions and the results of studies by Honda Malaysia’s product team.

In fact, if you look back not too long ago we see the Honda Stream getting a minor makeover with a small bump in price, that could be to make way for a new Honda Freed MPV inserted right below it in the product range.

With the MPV segment here so crowded and the Proton Exora and Perodua MPV all set to take a huge chunk of the segment, and combined with the recession, Honda may be entering the game too late, but in small numbers it will fulfill the niche of those who want a Honda-branded MPV and the typical associated values that Honda applies to its products.

What we know for sure is if it comes, it will be a Honda, so it won’t be cheap. Anyway please check out our previous coverage on the Honda Freed when it was first unveiled to see more photos of it including shots of the interior, or look after the jump for a few videos.

Related Posts:
New Honda Freed MPV with up to 8 seats
[Read more...]

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Honda Malaysia scores highest monthly sales ever thanks to new 2009 Honda City

February 27, 2009 at 9:29 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2009 Honda City, Cars, Honda, Local News

2009 Honda City

The Honda City seems to be defying the current financial downturn as it has helped propel Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd achieve its highest monthly sales ever in history, bringing Honda market share up to 10% of the Total Industry Volume, in a market that has shrunk by 17.5% year on year. Honda scored 1,693 units of the Honda City in January 2009, which is nearly 50% of total Honda sales of 3,815 units. The Civic, Accord and CR-V scored sales of 734, 803 and 413 units respectively.

Honda dealership traffic has also doubled ever since the City’s launch. Honda Malaysia has bumped up production for the City by 20% to shorten the waiting period and the Pegoh Plant in Malacca is running at full capacity on two 10-hour shifts and even the occasional runtime during holidays. Read our past coverage of the 2009 Honda City linked below.

Related Posts:
2009 Honda City First Drive Impressions Review
2009 Honda City 1.5E and 1.5S launched in Malaysia
2009 Honda City in-depth details and specifications

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