Honda’s luxury car brand Acura trying a makeover; To launch new SUV exclusively for China market
In a broad makeover, Japan's Honda Motor’s luxury brand Acura is planning to launch a new small crossover sport utility vehicle in 2016 ostensibly for the Chinese market in a bid to compete efficiently with BMW and Audi.
For the new CEO, reviving Acura has been a priority. Takahiro Hachigo, who took over as Honda CEO in 2015 has taken up the challenge. The makeover is expected to cure the brand’s struggle to carve a clear identity as a sporty, high-performance luxury label, reports Reuters.
Honda Acura entered the Chinese market a decade ago. However, sales are not doing well. It could sell only just over 4,000 cars in 2015 as against BMW's 460,000 and Audi's 554,000. In the United States too, Acura failed to make a big dent despite the entry it made 20 years ago. Its sales failed to cross 201,000 mark of 2006, according to industry consultant IHS. In 2015, the sales were 179,000, just half the number sold by both BMW and Toyota Motor's Lexus luxury marquee.
China-only SUV
According to sources, the revival of Accura will kick off at its joint venture plant with Guangzhou Automobile Group. Seeking a “crisp and more expressive” style, the new model will be the fruit of four years of efforts by Honda’s product planners and engineers.
“We don't have a strong brand with Acura in China. Our next move could be make or break,” one of the insiders said.
A Beijing-based Honda spokeswoman said the new Acura crossover for China demonstrates the company's commitment to that market and added the sale will target 30,000 new crossover SUVs a year.
The new styling of Acura is being pioneered by the global design chief Dave Marek. He is expected to bestow Acura a new, sporty look that will stand out from other Honda models. However, the China model will not be unveiled before the Beijing auto show of April though the new Acura styling will be in Detroit auto show.
China dominates car sale
Meanwhile, China has retained its status as the world’s No. 1 auto market in 2015, by selling 24.6 million units compared to 17.2 million vehicles sold in the US.
According to the China Automobile Association, sales rose a healthy 4.7 percent and beat analyst forecast of a 3 percent hike in 2015 amidst slowdown in the Chinese economy. It said the number is a testament to China’s importance to global automakers, reports Forbes.
Analysts note that the car sales in China got a lot of boost from tax credits offered by government for smaller vehicles and electric cars. Analysts UBS Securities said dealers were also offering lavish discounts to overcome the 8 month down turn in car sales, mainly in second and third tier cities.
