Marketing of Honda Motorcycles in the USA Essay - 1682 Words

Marketing of Honda motorcycles in the USA The American Honda Motor Company was established as a subsidiary by Honda in 1959. During the 1960s the type of motorcycles brought by Americans underwent a major change. Motorcycle registrations increased by over 800,000 in five years from 1960. In the early 60s the major competitors were Haley - Davidson of U.S.A, BSA, Triumph and Norton of the UK and Motto - Guzzi of Italy. Harley-Davidson had the largest market share with sales in 1959 totalling a6.6 million dollars. Many of the motorcycles produced were large and bulky and this led to the image of the motorcycle rider as being one who wore a leather jacket and went out to cause trouble. The Boston Consulting Group ( BCG )†¦show more content†¦The report goes on to show how Honda built up engineering competencies through the innovation of Mr Honda. The company also moved away from other companies who relied upon distributors to sell their bikes when the company set up its headquarters in the west coast of America. The BCG found that the motorcycles available before Honda entered the market were for limited group of people such as the police, army etc. But Honda had a policy of selling, not primarily to confirmed motorcyclists but rather to members of the general public who had never before given a second thought to a motorcycle( SP p.116 ). The small, lightweight Honda Supercub sold at under 250 dollars compared to the bigger American or British machines which were retailing at around 1000 to 1500 dollars. In 1960 Hondas research team comprised of around 700 designer and engineer staff compared to the 100 or so employed by their competitors showing the v alue which the company placed on innovation. Production per man-year was 159 units in 1962, a figure not reached by Harley-Davidson until 1974. Honda was following a strategy of developing region by region. Over a period of four to five years they moved from the west coast of America to the east coast. The report showed the emphasis which Honda paid to advertising when the company spent heavily on the advertising theme you meet the nicest people on a Honda therebyShow MoreRelatedThe Honda Effect Case Study1579 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Honda is a Japan based company and is the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles as well as the world’s manufacturer of motor vehicles, producing more than 14 million internal motor vehicles each year. The Honda Motor Company was founded by Soichiro Honda in 1948. In 1959, he opened the American Honda Motor Company, so he could fulfil his dream of building a high performance motorcycle and marketing it globally. 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