Published on September 3rd, 2021 | by Subhash Nair
0Honda Malaysia Pushing Hard To Recover Momentum In 2021
Honda Malaysia will be launching new models, and pushing marketing campaigns throughout the rest of 2021.
Honda Malaysia has been holding the top non-national brand spot in the country since 2015, but 2020 and 2021 have seriously shaken their ability to hit sales targets. So, with the automotive sector reopening after four months of almost no activity, the company is planning a huge product and marketing offensive to regain its business momentum.
Honda Malaysia September Special Benefits Campaign
The government has already waived sales and services tax (SST) on car sales for the rest of 2021, but Honda will take these savings a step further for their customers. From Honda Malaysia, there will be a September Special Benefits Campaign throughout the month. This gives customers up to RM6,000 worth of benefits in the form of “Malaysiaku Bonus” and either an “Extra Rebate” or a “Service Voucher”.
Here’s what the September Special Benefits Program looks like for each model.
Honda Malaysia’s Special Financing Program
Honda Malaysia is also trying something new by introducing a Special Financing Program that runs until the end of 2021. With this Special Financing Program, Honda customers will get to pay lower monthly installments during the early stages of car ownership. Honda says this can bring down monthly payments for the first year to as low as RM588 per month.
Booking a Honda online
Honda already has an existing online pre-booking platform to make things easier for customers. It can be accessed through a web browser by clicking here or through the HondaTouch application. Pre-booking fees are just RM992.
Is Honda Malaysia Still Number 1?
Honda Malaysia did not disclose its sales numbers for 2021 so far, so we’re not sure if they’re still the no.1 non-national brand in the country. However, they did state that four models are still top sellers in their respective segments. Here’s which models are mentioned and how much of the market they each currently dominate.
- Civic – 72%
- Accord – 36%
- HR-V – 71%
- CR-V – 24%
What Honda models will be launched in Malaysia in 2021?
To keep the momentum going, Honda Malaysia indicated that they would be launching more models before the end of 2021.
Off the top of our head, the models most likely to launch are the all-new Honda Civic and all-new Honda HR-V. However, there is another model due replacement – the Honda Jazz – which ought to be replaced by the ASEAN-spec Honda City Hatchback.
The Honda BR-V’s replacement hasn’t been globally revealed yet. We got a preview of it in May, but it’s still in its pre-production phase.
Here’s what Honda Malaysia’s CEO, Ms Madoka Chujo had to say:
“We sincerely thank all the frontliners who put their lives on the line to save people and protect the health and safety of Malaysians. With their dedication and everybody’s cooperation, we believe better days will be here again. The first half of 2021 was challenging due the extended lockdown and uncertainties after seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases. We are most appreciative of the Government’s support in reopening the automotive sector that allows the business chain to operate under strict observance of SOPs. In the run up to commencing our operations, we undertook careful planning and stringent actions to ensure that all precautionary and preventive measures are strictly followed to protect our customers and associates. These include COVID-19 tests for our associates every two weeks, regular sanitisation and disinfection of the premises.”
Ms. Chujo continued, “We are pleased that 80% of Honda associates have been fully vaccinated as part of our effort to help curb the spread of COVID-19. This effort was also accelerated by the Public-Private Partnership COVID-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS). As the nation is making great progress with the vaccination programme, we target to complete full vaccination of all our associates by October 2021.”
“In our plans to regain the momentum and set a new benchmark in the market, Honda Malaysia has lined up new models that feature Honda’s Next Generation Advanced Technology to be launched in the coming months. These launches will provide Malaysians with more new model options during the current sales tax exemption period, which has been extended to 31st December 2021,” Ms. Chujo added.