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Old 23rd February 2016, 18:29   #1
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Honda Car India gets new boss

Mr. Yoichiro Ueno has been appointed as the new President & CEO of Honda Car India with effect from April 1, 2016.

Honda Car India gets new boss-honda.jpg

Mr. Ueno has been the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Honda Malaysia since January 2011. He was previously the Assistant Vice President of automobile sales of American Honda Motor Co., where he was involved in the overall planning and coordination of sales and marketing in the US market.

He has been associated with Honda Motor Co. for over 30 years and has served in markets outside Japan like New Zealand and Thailand, and worked with overseas divisions and countries such as Asia and Oceania, China and North America.

Mr. Ueno will take over from Mr. Katsushi Inoue, who will move to Europe to take over as the Chief Operating Officer, Regional Operations (Europe Region) and President & Director, Honda Motor Europe.

During his tenure in India, Mr. Inoue led several initiatives in the field of digitization and the company also witnessed an expansion in its dealer network.
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Old 24th February 2016, 09:47   #2
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Honda removes India CEO after 1 year

Quoting from the original article -
"Honda Cars has removed its India head Katsushi Inoue after just one year of his appointment, a move industry insiders perceive to be a result of not-so-satisfactory performance of some of the company's new models like Mobilio and Brio.
This is the second time the Japanese company is prematurely cutting short the term of a chief executive after effecting a similar move in 2012 when it had called back the then India CEO and president Takashi Nagai after two years of his tenure, and also moved out marketing director Seki Inaba, who was transferred after one year of his appointment."

Full article here -

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/51114427.cms

In my opinion, this is a good move from Honda.Honda has certainly lost it's connect with the Indian public, it's brand perception is going downhill and even the bullet proof Honda reliability has taken a hit. Honda India is basically surviving on one model - the City - which earned lot of goodwill among the Inidan public over the years and is still the default choice for a 10 lakh rupee sedan.Hoping things would improve going forward and we get to see a new much more aggressive Honda India offering new exciting models and features along with the legendary Honda reliability and safety.

Last edited by .anshuman : 24th February 2016 at 11:37. Reason: Typo fixed. Thanks
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Old 25th February 2016, 00:23   #3
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Sad. There is a need for some fresh designs on both the inside and outside with the quality that these Hondas used to boast earlier.

We had a City in 2004 before and it was built very well. Later models started seeing heavy cost cutting as compared to models sold earlier.

The company is managing to survive only by brand loyalty and word-of-mouth for the Honda City. If this car is removed from their portfolio, this company is nothing better than the bottom ones that are seen in our monthly sales charts.

IMO rather than improving the customer experience over the years as mentioned in the article, there has been an increase in arrogance amongst dealerships and their respective sales guys. Pretty sad sight when one enters the showroom that my friend and I had gone through a few days ago.

Quote:
Honda Cars has removed its India head Katsushi Inoue after just one year of his appointment, a move industry insiders perceive to be a result of not-so-satisfactory performance of some of the company's new models like Mobilio and Brio.

This is the second time the Japanese company is prematurely cutting short the term of a chief executive after effecting a similar move in 2012 when it had called back the then India CEO and president Takashi Nagai after two years of his tenure, and also moved out marketing director Seki Inaba, who was transferred after one year of his appointment.

"During his tenure in India, Inoue led several initiatives in the field of digitization to enhance customer experience and bring in operational efficiencies at the company and dealership level... the company also witnessed significant expansion in its dealer network during this period," Honda said.

Inoue, who moves to the European region as COO, will be replaced by Yoichiro Ueno, who joins India from Malaysia where he was functioning as CEO & MD since January 2011. The changes will happen from April 1 this year.
http://m.economictimes.com/industry/...w/51119802.cms

Last edited by Gannu_1 : 25th February 2016 at 08:33. Reason: Typos + grammatical corrections.
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Old 25th February 2016, 00:50   #4
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Still the volumes the Jazz and the amaze get home are still better than manufacturers such as VW, Skoda, Fiat and Nissan. Honda has been on a phenomenal rise in the last 3years with mobilio being the only flop in the true sense. Honda has made some cost cutting (the sheet metal on my jazz) but still overall finesse is still amongst the best in class and beats all its competitors for space management.
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Old 25th February 2016, 01:01   #5
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Re: Honda removes India CEO Katsushi Inoue after 1 year

There was so much expectations from Honda in the newly launched Moblio, but it was very disappointing on the quality of the interiors and cost cutting on construction and build. Did they go overboard and compromise on quality (even on areas which is visible to naked eye) just to beat the competition on the price. In the earlier days, Honda brand elicited overall quality in fit and finish which also meant a higher price. But it would have meant more satisfying ownership of a superior product. Not sure where they lost the way in the last few years. Hope they introspect and return to building a more quality product as before.
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Old 25th February 2016, 01:26   #6
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Re: Honda removes India CEO Katsushi Inoue after 1 year

Quote:
Originally Posted by a4anurag View Post
The company is managing to survive only by brand loyalty and word-of-mouth for the Honda City. If this car is removed from their portfolio, this company is nothing better than the bottom ones that are seen in our monthly sales charts.
I fully agree with you. The city is just a badly built car as documented by not a on off but several members in the forum. In my personal opinion the earlier Honda cars even looked better design wise. What's worse is they keep showcasing the number of JDPower awards they have won on their ads so people think Honda is the absolute benchmark of quality. The execution is simply NOT "Japanese" that one comes to expect from the makers of the NSX and Civic. My friend's 2.5 year Amaze i-Dtec howls like a squealing pig (not a pleasant noise at all when revved ) but my 6 year old i20 CRDi neighs the diesel horses even at 3500-4000 rpm.
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Old 25th February 2016, 10:30   #7
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Re: Honda removes India CEO after 1 year

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Originally Posted by adimicra View Post
Honda Cars has removed its India head Katsushi Inoue after just one year of his appointment, a move industry insiders perceive to be a result of not-so-satisfactory performance of some of the company's new models like Mobilio and Brio.
Thanks for sharing! Completely agreed.

Yes, the City did better volumes than ever before, but the new car anyway would (thanks to the diesel + equipment). The new Jazz is also doing reasonable volumes, and so is the Amaze (though both aren't consistent).

Where he failed was a lapse in quality. No one ever heard of niggles in a Honda, but the new City's cost cutting changed that. Even the Mobilio with its premium pricing & cost cutting fell flat on its face. Clearly a boss who had little understanding of the Indian market.

I also don't agree with his thinking that focus on the mass-market segments should mean abandoning the premium segments (as they did with pulling out the Civic & Accord line-up). Hyundai seems to handle both just fine. Actually, Hyundai might well be the new Honda .
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Old 25th February 2016, 11:47   #8
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Re: Honda Car India gets new boss

I have heard rants from an exHonda friend about handwritten office process which Honda follows within. Either Honda is 'dreaming big' in India or planning to digitize their systems in Europe. Hope Honda will remain Japanese and not get carried away by mass market demands.



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Old 25th February 2016, 14:29   #9
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Re: Honda removes India CEO Katsushi Inoue after 1 year

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Originally Posted by RocketRaccoon View Post
I fully agree with you. The city is just a badly built car as documented by not a on off but several members in the forum. In my personal opinion the earlier Honda cars even looked better design wise. What's worse is they keep showcasing the number of JDPower awards they have won on their ads so people think Honda is the absolute benchmark of quality. The execution is simply NOT "Japanese" that one comes to expect from the makers of the NSX and Civic. My friend's 2.5 year Amaze i-Dtec howls like a squealing pig (not a pleasant noise at all when revved ) but my 6 year old i20 CRDi neighs the diesel horses even at 3500-4000 rpm.
Understandably this is a good move by Honda. Given the stiff competition prevailing in our market, Honda cannot afford to mess around with its sole bread earner "City".

The new City, despite being able to find decent number of homes each month, however is falling short of the marks set up by its own predecessor "City ZX". Be it in terms of feel good, brand image or reliability factors. Flimsy build with thin metal sheets and large panel gaps are evident. Cost cutting is glaring across all corners including those areas which come into direct notice, such as back of boot lid which is uncovered (cannot accept this in a Rupees 1 million sedan when my Rs 3 lakhs hatchback has it covered properly). All this while the prices move steeply northwards.

It's time Honda wakes up to the situation and takes quick measures before the "City" is lost in the crowd. Who else other than Hyundai can explain in a better way the consequences of not considering the market dynamics while bringing in the so called updates/ refresh/ facelifts, in the otherwise very popular fluidic verna.

Last edited by King_pin09 : 25th February 2016 at 14:46.
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Old 25th February 2016, 15:10   #10
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I've already spoken too much on this topic, so no comments on the quality aspects.

But it's really heartening to see some changes in the management. Hope the 'new' Honda takes the right direction. Honda cars are not the cheapest in the segment, and there is no dearth of people willing to shell out a premium for the 'real Honda' experience. So I don't see any reason for them to do such massive cost cutting measures.

Would be interesting to see what measures are taken by Mr. Yoichiro Ueno. Like GTO mentioned- Honda should bring in their actual cars once again, the Civic especially. The current generation launched last year has been getting good reviews worldwide and its the right time to attack Hyundai and take the new Elantra head on.
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Old 25th February 2016, 20:47   #11
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Re: Honda removes India CEO after 1 year

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Hyundai seems to handle both just fine. Actually, Hyundai might well be the new Honda .
Exactly! I think Honda gave away it's market to competitors on a platter.

Another decision which I don't understand is about launching Mobilio before BR-V. I would have preferred it to be the other way round. As a customer I will be very happy to see my utilitarian UV to look similar to a 'premium'SUV already in the market rather than my new SUV looking very similar to a cheaper UV out there. I feel BR-V lost some of it's edge because of this.

On the positive side, it is good to see Honda moving fast before it is too late.

Last edited by pacman2881 : 25th February 2016 at 20:51.
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