source : HMETRO
Monday, February 21, 2011
Hyundai SONATA Terima anugerah 5 bintang
Honda bakal bawa versi baru hibrid ke pasaran
Oleh Ahmad Farizal Hajat
ahmadfarizal@bharian.com.my
2011/02/21
HONDA Malaysia Sdn Bhd dijangka membawa masuk satu lagi versi baru kereta hibrid, iaitu Honda CR-Z Hybrid Sport ke pasaran tempatan sekitar suku kedua tahun ini.Sumber industri berkata, model yang diimport sepenuhnya (CBU) dari Jepun dan menggunakan enjin 1.5 liter i-VTEC itu, akan dijual pada harga sekitar RM118,000 hingga RM120,000 seunit.“Pengenalan model hibrid itu sejajar dengan komitmen Honda untuk terus merangsang pasaran automotif tempatan dengan pengenalan beberapa barisan model baru dan model dipertingkatkan tahun ini,” katanya kepada Berita Harian di Kuala Lumpur, baru-baru ini.
Kali terakhir Honda Malaysia melancarkan model barunya pada Disember lalu dengan menampilkan versi Honda Insight hibrid dan difahamkan model itu kini sudah meraih tempahan lebih daripada 1,300 unit.
Selain Insight hibrid yang menggunakan enjin 1.3 liter SOHC i-VTEC dan dijual pada harga atas jalan RM98,000 seunit, Honda Malaysia turut memasarkan Civic Hibrid pada harga RM108,980 di Semenanjung dan RM109,980 di Sabah dan Sarawak.
Sumber itu berkata, pengenalan Honda CR-Z Hybrid Sport Honda itu juga adalah hasil manfaat daripada langkah kerajaan melanjutkan insentif cukai menerusi pengecualian penuh cukai import dan eksais untuk kereta hibrid dalam pengumuman Bajet 2011.
Ia, katanya, sekali gus menjadikan kenderaan hibrid yang dipasarkan di Malaysia kini lebih mampu dimiliki.
Menerusi pelepasan cukai, jelas sumber, bagi kenderaan hibrid berkuasa 2,000 cc ke bawah, peserta industri seperti Honda akan mendapat lebih banyak pilihan untuk mempertingkatkan lagi rangkaian kenderaan hibrid di Malaysia.
Honda CR-Z hibrid yang digayakan dengan tempat duduk 2+2 coupe serta memiliki ciri yang sama seperti Volkswagen Scirocco, adalah kereta hibrid pertama Honda yang memiliki manual enam-kelajuan.
Model yang dianugerahkan sebagai Kereta Terbaik Jepun 2010, memiliki ruang dalaman moden dan berteknologi tinggi sambil papan pemukanya yang memiliki pelbagai paparan maklumat, ditampilkan dengan pencahayaan lampu biru.
Gabungan tenaga model itu mampu menjana sehingga 122 brek kuasa kuda (bhp) pada 6,000 rpm dan tork maksimum sehingga 174Nm.
Sumber itu berkata, dengan pengenalan versi hibrid baru itu dan ditambahkan lagi dengan beberapa lagi model baru lain, Honda Malaysia dijangka berupaya meraih jumlah jualan keseluruhan sebanyak 48,000 unit pada tahun ini berbanding 44,486 unit tahun lalu.
Tahun lalu, model terlarisnya, City, kekal sebagai penjana utama pertumbuhannya dengan mencatatkan jualan 19,946 unit (45 peratus daripada keseluruhan jualan), diikuti model Civic dan Accord yang masing-masing menyumbang sebanyak 20 peratus dan 16 peratus jualan, manakala model CR-V edisi baru menyumbangkan sebanyak 12 peratus.
Bakinya disumbangkan oleh model CBU seperti Jazz, Stream, Freed, Odyssey, Civic Hybrid dan Type R, dan Accord V6.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Honda sticks to its guns
Hemananthani Sivanandam `We will continue to advertise to maintain our brand Although the economy is in a difficult position and some companies are slashing their advertising budgets, Honda Malaysia is not scaling back on its budget. “We will continue to advertise to maintain our brand and to guide our customers to make the right decision in selecting the right models,” Takahashi said. “But we don’t have any new models coming up this year so our advertising campaign will be a bit different from our previous ones,” he said, adding that it is in the midst of preparing for its campaigns for the second half of the year. Honda will still focus on traditional media although it has also ventured into the new media in the last few years. Takahashi said the company relies on three pillars- corporate and product PR and advertising – to maintain its brand presence in the market. “We relay our messages to our customers through PR and we establish our brand and presence in the market through advertising, therefore both of these functions blend together. “We put emphasis on motorsports which shows our challenging spirit, as well as on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and advanced technology. For example, the company gained public relations mileage through its CSR programmes such as the Honda Dreams Fund and its Save the Rhino project. The Honda Dreams Fund is a community project developed in 2007 to help underprivileged youths by providing them with the opportunity to pursue higher education and skills training in local institutions of higher learning. The scholarships are awarded to promising students who fit the selection criteria set by Honda and United Nations Development Programme. The Save the Rhino project was initiated by Honda together with World Wildlife Fund to protect Sumatran rhinos in the country. Takahashi, who was previously a manager in the automobile department at Honda Motors in Tokyo, said during challenging times, it is vital for business managers to be “on the ball” and actively monitor the market, so they are able to make more agile and flexible decisions based on market changes. “Companies must adapt to changes in the market situation, but the answer always lies in the customers, so we have to monitor the changes in them,” he said, adding the company regularly conducts surveys to understand its customers’ behaviour. “However, surveys have their limitations, so we must also take into account feedback from our dealerships, associates and sales service representatives to give us the feedback.” | |||