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HONDA

Honda is a global leader in the design and manufacture of commercial-grade cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and motorcycles. Since being founded in Hamamatsu, Japan in 1959, Honda has become the largest producer of combustion engines in the world, as well as the largest producer of motorcycles.

Honda is a unique and unusual vehicle manufacturer in that the company is also focused on the production of a variety of niche-market machinery and equipment, including boats and boating equipment, gas and diesel-powered generators, and home landscaping machines. The company is also deeply involved in the development of cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence, jet engines and other aerospace-related ventures.

The very first vehicle produced by Honda available for sale to the public was a small pickup truck called the T360, which hit the market in 1963. Following the T360 was Honda’s first sport-type car, the S500, which went on sale the same year. Interestingly, the S500 featured a unique chain-driven wheel design that reflected Honda’s extensive experience in motorcycle manufacturing. In later years, Honda’s taste for innovation and high-quality engineering was demonstrated with the release of the Honda NSX, the first car to feature a body made entirely of aluminum, which does not rust. Despite the success of the NSX and Honda’s Acura brand of luxury-grade vehicles, the company was late to manufacture a sport utility vehicle compared with other car makers; Honda’s SUV offerings, however – the CR-V and the Honda Odyssey - were ultimately successful.

Honda operates manufacturing and assembly facilities in many countries around the world, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United States and others. Honda’s many subdivisions, including Honda Canada, Honda Racing Corporation and Guangzhou Honda are established in the geographic areas that are most conducive to the operations of the particular business units.

Some of Honda’s vehicles include the massively popular Honda Civic, the Fit, the Insight, the Accord, the CR-V and CR-Z, as well as lesser-known and older vehicles such as the L700 and the Honda 1300.

Regarding the company’s investments in cleaner emissions technology and improved efficiency of their vehicles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that of the top ten most fuel efficient cars available on the market in the United States, Honda produces five of them. This unmatched success in manufacturing vehicles with a reduced environmental impact that also sell well with the general public is a badge of pride for Honda.

Honda’s success in motorcycle manufacturing and sales reached its peak in the 1980’s and gradually dwindled in the decades afterwards, however the company is still recognized as a world leader in motorcycle design, engineering and technology.