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Honda Australia’s pivot to an agency sales model and lower overall volume could open the door for niche models to enter local showrooms, with more SUVs mooted to bolster the line-up.
Speaking to media, Honda Australia boss Stephen Collins said that the Japanese brand is looking to fill some gaps in its range, as its reduced product portfolio is centred around the Civic small car, HR-V small SUV and CR-V mid-size SUV.
“It’s not rocket science that SUVS are where the action is and will be more so where the action is in the future,” he said.
“CR-V and HR-V are critical models to us, and of course we’re looking, where we can, to plug other holes.
“There will be an opportunity in the coming months where we will be a lot more open about where we’re at.”
Notably, Honda is currently lacking a light SUV to compete against the likes of the Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX, as well as a large SUV that could take on the Toyota Kluger and Hyundai Santa Fe.
Honda Australia could bring in the Pilot or Passport from the US market as a large SUV to sit above the CR-V, while something like the South East Asian BR-V could slot in between the HR-V and CR-V as another crossover in the brand's line-up.
Mr Collins did however, hint that with the discontinuation of the Jazz and City light cars, Honda Australia would look at aligning itself closer to Japanese-built vehicles, rather than sourcing vehicles from Thailand.
“The other area I would say that we’re looking more and more at is our sourcing strategy,” he said.
“We source heavily from Thailand and have for many years. So, there are options to source elsewhere, maybe a bit more from Japan even. That, also, can open up some opportunities.”
Looking at Japanese-built Hondas, the only standout that might be suitable for Australia is the e all-electric hatchback, which is produced in right-hand drive and already on sale in the UK as a direct rival to the tailpipe emissions-free Mini Cooper SE.
A potential left-of-field model could be the S660 sports car, a tiny two-door convertible that measures less than 3400mm long and is powered by a turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine.
However, more passenger vehicles could be hard to justify for Honda Australia as customer preferences continue to swing in favour of crossovers, and the brand has already confirmed the new-generation Civic will not be offered in the sedan body style.
However, Mr Collins said the brand is committed, despite low sales volume, to the Toyota Camry-rivalling Accord mid-size sedan for now.
“Accord is one I get asked a fair bit about, and look it’s not a volume model, clearly, but it’s got an enormous history in Australia, it’s a global model, it’s our flagship sedan, so we’re still committed to certain segments within the passenger vehicle market, but the reality is that the market is so much and continues to be fast moving towards SUVs,” he said.
“We’re not abandoning the passenger market; we’re just aligning ourselves to what customers want.”
Another model that will likely find an audience in Australia is the US-market Ridgeline pick-up, which could compete against the best-selling Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.
A conversion to right-hand drive could drive up costs of the Ridgeline, but Mr Collins reaffirmed that each model offered by Honda in Australia would need to make sense financially.
“The stock standard answer is that every model whether it’s volume or not needs some sort of business case,” he said.
“But I think it could open up some opportunities, and there’ll be a period in the coming months where we can sort of be more open on what that might look like.”
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