Honda

The Honda Motor Company is a Japanese international corporation mainly recognized as a producer of motorcycles and automobiles.
Honda is the world’s leading maker of motorcycles. It is also the world’s largest producer of internal combustion engines by volume, manufacturing more than 14 million each year. Honda passed Nissan in 2001 as the second-largest Japanese car maker. In August 2008, Honda replaced Chrysler as the fourth-largest automobile producer in the United States. Honda is the world’s sixth-largest automobile maker.
When it launched Acura in 1986, Honda became the first Japanese car manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand. Since then, Honda has also been occupied with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released its ASIMO robot in 2000. Honda has also moved into aerospace with the organization of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, planned to be launched in 2011. Honda sinks approximately 5% of its profits into research and development.
With the United States economy weakening and fuel prices rising in recent years, Honda’s sales have increased 1% while its rivals, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota, have suffered double-digit declines. Honda’s sales increased nearly 20 percent from the same month a year ago. Honda’s Civic and the Accord were among the top five models in sales. Market analysts have attributed Honda’s sales success to two major factors: Honda’s product line is made up of generally small to mid-size, extremely fuel-efficient vehicles; and Honda has designed its factories to be flexible so they can be changed easily to produce any Honda vehicle that might be in demand at the time.
Even so, Honda, Nissan and Toyota have not been unaffected by worldwide economic crises, as each has lowered its prosperity forecast. The financial calamity has stretched to other key players in the vehicle industry as well.