Honda Malaysia is still No 1* in 2020
2020 was a tough year for everyone in the automotive sector thanks to a certain pandemic. Nevertheless, the resurgence that came later in the year as economic activities returned to a ‘New Normal’, not forgetting the much-needed SST exemption scheme by the government, proved to be pivotal for some in the sector.
Amongst the few that thrived was Honda Malaysia, and the firm ended an otherwise tough 2020 on a high by retaining its No 1 non-national car brand crown for a sixth consecutive year. This is the result of the firm’s successful efforts in moving a total of 60,469 cars off its showroom floors throughout 2020.
In contrast, this marks a sizable drop from 2019 where Honda Malaysia sold 85,418 cars in total. Apart from the Covid-19 pandemic that still plagues our daily lives today, we reckon the galvanizing efforts of both local staples Proton and Perodua in 2020 also mounted stiff challenges for the Japanese marque.
Despite so, there was plenty for Honda to revel at, none bigger than the arrival of its brand new fifth-gen City offering. Said model recorded the highest monthly sales in the firm’s history with over 5,500 sold in December 2020 alone. To date, the new City has garnered 15,200 bookings since its October launch.
Honda Malaysia’s efforts through the all-new City is stellar to say the least, and that’s despite having just three of the four variants planned on sale – pricing for the crowning flagship 1.5 RS i-MMD Hybrid variant remain unannounced still at the time of writing.
Nevertheless, with the government’s decision to extend the SST exemption scheme on new cars until 30 June 2021, Honda Malaysia is poised to continue this momentum. The firm also refreshed a bevy of models throughout 2020 like the Civic, Accord and more recently the CR-V, all of which poised to aid the firm in retaining its crown in 2021.
