Honda records best-ever sales in ASEAN in 2016

Asian Honda Motor Co, the regional headquarters of Honda in the Asia & Oceania (A&O) region, has announced that Honda achieved its highest record for automobile sales in 2016 in the ASEAN region (Southeast Asia).

Retail sales for the year reached 431,832 units, a 7% increase over the 2015 sales volume of 405,158 units.  The Japanese carmaker recorded all-time highest annual sales in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The HR-V crossover was the best-selling Honda car with 87,221 units (+3% YoY), accounting for 20% of the total ASEAN sales. The popular City sedan with 72,530 (-15% YoY) and Jazz hatchback with 58,509 units (-4% YoY) were the second and third-highest contributors in the company’s Best 7 Models (see table below).

The Mobilio, with sales of 46,497 units (-20% YoY) was No 4 on the list. The all-new Civic sedan saw a close to 200% growth with sales of 38,894 units compared to 2015 (13,076), while the new BR-V entry-level SUV contributed 45,106 units to the overall total, representing over 10% of Honda’s total ASEAN sales for the year.

How the ASEAN markets stack up for Honda
In Indonesia, the best-performing market for Honda, sales reached an all-time record of 190,229 units, accounting for 44% of the carmaker’s overall 2016 ASEAN sales. The company attributes the sales increase of 14% over 2015 to its existing model line-up including the HR-V, Brio Satya and Mobilio, along with contribution from the newly-introduced BR-V. With this, Honda’s market share in Indonesia grew to 18%, the highest market share for any country among Honda’s automobile operations worldwide. Honda sales in Indonesia also ranked as the fourth biggest in Honda’s worldwide automobile sales ranking for the first time in 2016.

Honda began production of the new Civic at the Prachinburi plant in Thailand in March 2016. 

Thailand was the second biggest contributor to regional sales, representing 25% of the total, with 107,342 units sold. Although the Thai market showed negative growth, Honda says it reinforced its number one position in the Thai passenger car segment for the second year in a row. Sales of the new Civic sedan grew three-fold compared to 2015.

Sales in Malaysia, the third-biggest contributor, recorded 91,830 units, giving Honda a 16% market share in Malaysia, the second-highest market share in Honda’s global automobile operations behind Indonesia. Honda achieved the number one position in the non-national segment for the second year in a row and the number two position in the overall Malaysian market, including national cars, for the first time ever. The Civic sedan recorded an impressive 165% increase over 2015 sales, while existing models such as the HR-V and Jazz saw continuously strong sales, says the company.

Honda also recorded its all-time highest sales results in the Philippines and Vietnam. The Philippines saw sales of 23,199 units with 20% YoY growth. In Vietnam, Honda sold 11,501 units with sales growth of 38% YoY, while Singapore doubled 2015 sales, achieving 98% YoY growth, albeit on a low sales base, for 2016.