Honda Australia has reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian market and unveiled its plans to transform its local sales and customer service in response to challenging international and domestic trends.
· Honda Australia is restructuring its automotive business model and dealer network from July 2021
· The business will prioritise the customer experience over volume
· It will deliver transparent and consistent new vehicle prices right across Australia
· The 15-month transition will be gradual and respectful of customers and dealers
MELBOURNE, 24thMarch, 2020 – Honda Australia has reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian market and unveiled its plans to transform its local sales and customer service in response to challenging international and domestic trends.
Over the next 15 months, Honda will transform its dealer network across Australia to strengthen the business for long-term sustainability in a time of transition across the automotive industry.
“We can’t sit still,” said Mr Stephen Collins, Director, Honda Australia, “the Australian market has seen 23 consecutive months of decline and every automotive business is rapidly changing.”
The key business changes announced today are intended to take effect from 1 July 2021.
This transition will see Honda Australia shift to a new agency-style business model, prioritise the customer experience over volume and consolidate its product range and dealer network to better respond to market realities and evolving customer preferences.
The exact number of dealers that will remain under the new model has not been determined, but in metropolitan areas dealers will have larger regions as part of a ‘hub-and-spoke’ network.
“Customer preferences are changing and other industries have evolved while the automotive industry still uses a model that is decades old.
“We have excellent customer retention and want to reward our loyal and highly valued customer base with a more relational and less transactional experience. We know our customers want good value, strong resale value and a seamless ownership experience on top of reliable engineering and quality vehicles,” Mr Collins said.
The new business model will deliver transparency of price and consistency of experience, no matter which Honda dealer customers visit.
Customers will benefit from:
- A simpler and more transparent experience to remove some of the pressures and anxiety sometimes associated with the purchase of a new vehicle;
- The opportunity to experience the full Honda range and browse for the model that matches their exact preferences without pressure to necessarily buy; and
- Honda having the ability to set consistent prices for new vehicles across the country
“The transition over the next 15 months will be a gradual process to allow our dealer network to fully prepare for the new business model. Honda Australia has just celebrated its 50-year anniversary; now is the time to take the necessary steps to seek to ensure the business and network are set up for the future and that our customers are with us for the next 50 years,” Mr Collins said.
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· The business will prioritise the customer experience over volume
· It will deliver transparent and consistent new vehicle prices right across Australia
· The 15-month transition will be gradual and respectful of customers and dealers
MELBOURNE, 24thMarch, 2020 – Honda Australia has reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian market and unveiled its plans to transform its local sales and customer service in response to challenging international and domestic trends.
Over the next 15 months, Honda will transform its dealer network across Australia to strengthen the business for long-term sustainability in a time of transition across the automotive industry.
“We can’t sit still,” said Mr Stephen Collins, Director, Honda Australia, “the Australian market has seen 23 consecutive months of decline and every automotive business is rapidly changing.”
The key business changes announced today are intended to take effect from 1 July 2021.
This transition will see Honda Australia shift to a new agency-style business model, prioritise the customer experience over volume and consolidate its product range and dealer network to better respond to market realities and evolving customer preferences.
The exact number of dealers that will remain under the new model has not been determined, but in metropolitan areas dealers will have larger regions as part of a ‘hub-and-spoke’ network.
“Customer preferences are changing and other industries have evolved while the automotive industry still uses a model that is decades old.
“We have excellent customer retention and want to reward our loyal and highly valued customer base with a more relational and less transactional experience. We know our customers want good value, strong resale value and a seamless ownership experience on top of reliable engineering and quality vehicles,” Mr Collins said.
The new business model will deliver transparency of price and consistency of experience, no matter which Honda dealer customers visit.
Customers will benefit from:
- A simpler and more transparent experience to remove some of the pressures and anxiety sometimes associated with the purchase of a new vehicle;
- The opportunity to experience the full Honda range and browse for the model that matches their exact preferences without pressure to necessarily buy; and
- Honda having the ability to set consistent prices for new vehicles across the country
“The transition over the next 15 months will be a gradual process to allow our dealer network to fully prepare for the new business model. Honda Australia has just celebrated its 50-year anniversary; now is the time to take the necessary steps to seek to ensure the business and network are set up for the future and that our customers are with us for the next 50 years,” Mr Collins said.
[ENDS]