They have the capability to develop great cars that are ahead of their time. But they don't seem to have the commercial acumen, or perhaps a big enough budget, to promote them to the masses.
Take the original Honda Insight. You could be forgiven for not knowing the car I refer to. It never achieved high volume sales. It was a hybrid that was way ahead of its time. A highly efficient eco machine. Lightweight aluminium body that is still sort after by enthusiasts today. Too radical in its design to have mass market appeal? And perhaps our beloved Honda e will follow the same fate.
Honda's decision to stop building cars in Europe and focus on the Japanese and US markets implies they have given up the fight. Perhaps the European market is too crowded. And yet Hyundai and Kia are penetrating it well. And Toyota and Nissan are firmly established. Closing their Swindon plant is a blow to the UK. Clearly Brexit is a factor, although they deny it.
And now we see Honda pushing their "self-charging hybrids' much to the scorn of many via twitter. Unlike VW and other who see BEVs as their future, Honda seem to be desperately clinging to what they can sell now to make money. Gone is any Vision for their Future Car that dreams are made of. Maybe motorbikes and Lawn mowers are their Cash Cows.
It seems a shame, but history often repeats itself.
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/auto ... HONDA.html
