Tag: automobile update

Top 5 Honda Divisions & A Few Interesting Facts About Honda

Honda established itself as one of the topmost manufacturers of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment globally. The Japanese company also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft, power generators, robots and mountain bikes. Let’s take a look at the top 5 Honda divisions.

Honda Motorcycles

 

Honda has come a long way from manufacturing noisy scooters to making the finest cars on the planet, but people will always remember the company for its motorcycle division. Since 1955, Honda has been the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan and one of the topmost motorcycle manufacturers globally. Honda started venturing outside the Japanese motorcycle market in the ’60s and began exporting their motorcycles to the United States. 

Along with Robert Emmenegger, creative director, Grey Advertising, the company created an innovative 12-year-long advertising campaign, “You meet the nicest people on a Honda”, and it became hugely successful, helping the company to sell over 90,000 motorcycles. The campaign marked the inception of the decay of domestic and British motorcycle brands in the US market and helped Honda to rise as a top motorcycle manufacturer.

Honda Automobiles

 

After Honda Motorcycles, a large sum of the company’s annual sales came from Honda Automobiles, which the company began manufacturing in 1963. The first car from Honda was the S500 sports car, which had chain-driven rear wheels. Over the next few decades, the company expanded their range of vehicles and exported its automobiles to the United States and other parts of the world. 

In 1986, the company ventured into the luxury car segment and became the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand- Acura. Soon, the company released the wildly successful Acura brand to the American market to gain ground in the luxury vehicle market. Since its inception, Honda has produced several prosperous cars, including the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, and Honda City.

Honda Engines

 

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is the world’s largest engine manufacturer that sets the standard for reliable and hard-working engines. When it comes to making engines, Honda focuses on better fuel efficiency, higher power output, superior and quieter performance. Honda engines are built with high-quality elements designed for optimum performance in the harshest environments. Honda engines are renowned for being easy to start but, despite being known as an engine company, Honda has never built a V8 for passenger vehicles. Honda engines powered the entire 33-car starting field of the 94th Indianapolis 500, held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, in 2010.

Honda Robots

 

Being a motorcycle and automobile manufacturing expert, Honda has always shown interest in Robotics. Since 1986, the company has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research. The Japanese company developed its first humanoid robot in 1986 and named it the Honda E series. The E series was a collection of experimental humanoid robots made by Honda between 1986 and 1993. 

The series later evolved into the Honda P series and helped Honda gather the knowledge and expertise necessary to create Honda’s advanced humanoid robot: ASIMO, which the company released in 2000. ASIMO was the world’s most advanced humanoid robot of its time, and even today, it is the world’s only humanoid robot able to ascend and descend stairs independently.

Honda Aircraft Company

 

Honda Aircraft Company is an aircraft manufacturing company founded as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company in August 2006. The aircraft division of Honda has pioneered new technology in its HA-420 HondaJet and is responsible for producing the HondaJet family of aircraft. Honda Aircraft Company builds aircraft with the latest innovations in aviation to change the way we travel. 

The company has introduced several innovations and cutting edge technology in general aviation aircraft, including an over-wing engine mount, carbon composite fuselage and natural laminar flow wings. In late 2003, an experimental HondaJet equipped with Honda HF118 engines completed its initial flight test, and in 2005, the aircraft division made its world debut for the public. Since 2017, the HondaJet has been the most delivered aircraft in its class, earning the accomplishment for the fourth consecutive year.

Did You Know?

  1. As of October 2021, Honda’s market capitalization was valued at over $52 billion. 
  2. The Honda Accord was the first foreign vehicle manufactured in the United States.
  3. Honda has its airport.
  4. The Honda Gold Wing motorcycle has been in production for over 40 years.
  5. The Honda Civic was Honda’s answer to the ’70s Fuel Crisis; the car is still one of the best value and fuel-efficient options on the market.
  6. Honda made the first four-wheel-drive car, the 1987 Honda Prelude.
  7. Honda’s logo is the most conservative one as it has remained unchanged in its entire history.
  8. Every Honda CR-V manufactured from 1997 to 2006 had a picnic table under the cargo area.

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Future of electric mobility in India

Clean, green and surprisingly fun

The Indian Automobile Industry is ranked as the 5th largest in the world and is expected to move up to be the 3rd largest by 2030. Despite this impressive growth, India still needs a dramatic shift in the mobility sector so as to cater to its vast, ever-growing population. With the crude oil prices drifting up internationally, as well as the rocketing fuel prices, the existing models might not suffice in the coming years; as technology needs to be environment-friendly and cost-effective at the same time. What, then, should be the alternative? 

Electrification certainly seems to be the talk of the town in this regard. It would do a great deal in reducing vehicular emissions – which are a key contributor to air pollution, a major and looming issue today in all the big, crowded cities of the country. The Indian auto industry has been buzzing with new innovations and trends with respect to this in the recent years. It all started with the “Reva” electric car which made its debut in the year 2001 (and later got acquired by Mahindra), and a few e-rickshaws which entered the market at that time. Since then, there have only been a few automakers (both four & two wheelers) to fill the gap. But the concept of electric vehicles, that used to turn just a few heads, is now catching everyone’s attention. It can definitely be said that electric vehicles are on their way to becoming a lucrative solution & a bright reality.  

Besides the strengthening of EV and related component manufacturing, the battery prices are also expected to fall by more than 30% by 2025, which will make electric vehicles more affordable over the period of time. Also, the government of India has announced various tax redemptions and subsidies to further encourage more people to consider EVs. Under the Make In India programme, the manufacturing of EVs and their associated components is expected to increase. On the economic front, large-scale adoption of electric vehicles is expected to bring down the dependency on foreign oil & petroleum imports. The running cost of EVs, as compared to fuel could fall as low as Rs 1.1/km from that of Rs.6-10/km of a diesel or petrol vehicle , helping an electric vehicle owner save up to Rs. 20,000 for every 5,000km traversed. 

Further, a holistic e-mobility ecosystem is complete only with an effective charging infrastructure & e-mobility service providers (rentals, charging spots, battery swapping stations etc.) and related regulations. Currently, charging infrastructure for EVs is an area of concern; however, there have been some positive developments with more and more OEM’s entering the market with their products and collectively helping set and grow the infra across the country.

The demand for electric vehicles in our country is driven by the concern of fast-charging batteries coupled with great performance & extended driving range. Indians are known for being value-conscious & thus the number of EVs selling today is less. Talking money, the running cost of a diesel/petrol vehicle can be tremendously more than that of an EV, but the initial investment is what gets heavy on the pockets. It is this mentality which needs to be changed.

For automotive players today, the primary challenge is to develop quality battery packs with extended range and longer lifespan; batteries which are safe and can store & deliver a lot of energy. In the current ecosystem, lithium ion batteries have emerged as the most suitable option.

Reservations do exist among consumers today due to the limited range of these vehicles and the lack of charging facilities, as well as the high operating costs behind setting up Public Charging Stations (PCS) – the burden of which would be passed on to them in the form of higher tariffs. As a result, EVs are only used for short, irregular trips and have yet to become the norm. However, despite these infrastructural limitations, continuous investments are taking place in the research and development arena to make EV and associated technology more cost-effective. Along with this, an increasingly facilitative role is being played by the Government in providing concessions to encourage their adoption. Finally, with the realization of the practical realities surrounding traditional vehicles and their externalities, these factors will cumulatively begins to shape the consumer’s preferences favourably towards EVs. They will surely become a viable and optimal alternative in the coming future, with immense potential to transform the landscape, and usher in a new era for the automobile sector. 

India can benefit on a large scale with the widespread adoption of e-mobility. Various government interventions can definitely play a vital role in advancing electric mobility in the country. Indian policymakers have been actively pushing EV adoption in the recent years, by introducing various plans like NEMMP (National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, 2020) , the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) and other electric campaigns under different state governments.

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