Earlier this day while visiting Honda Pakistan website something caught my attention– a 14% discount to celebrate the freedom as our Independence Day approaches. My heartbeat raised in excitement as finally Honda seemed to be offering a big discount to revive the ailing sales.
Related: Honda Civic Sedan Discontinued in Japan
However it didn’t took long to burst the bubble as the text below reads General Repairs & Periodic Maintenance. Alas it happens to be just another futile campaign that would do no better for Honda Atlas in terms of improving their sales or regaining their rapidly diminishing market share.
Around the world automakers are having a tough time coping up with the aftermaths of COVID-19 pandemic which affected the automobile sales quite badly. However in most of the markets car makers are giving discounts and various schemes to lure buyers back into buying the cars. Unfortunately the recipe of giving a discount doesn’t seem to be present in the books of local assemblers, plus to add to the miseries, Honda has increased the prices of its cars 3 times during the last 7 months with prices increased by up to Rs 320,000 on various local assembled models.
Related: Troubling Times for Honda in Pakistan
The company has been suffering from poor sales as it saw 63% less vehicles leaving the showroom floors compared to the sales from previous year. The Fiscal Year 2019-20 saw Honda managing to sell just 16,387 units compared to a rather handsome 44,234 units in FY2018-19. The company also recently declared net losses of Rs. 511 million for the quarter ended 30th June 2020, as compared to the profits of Rs. 241.7 million recorded in the same period of last year primarily due to a drastic decline in sales.
How well the 14% discount offer on repairs & maintenance that will last for hardly 8 days is going to bring positive results for Honda, is yet unknown. However I believe much serious & effective decisions are needed to be taken in order to bring the company out of the dark. With clouds of stiff competition hovering above, repetitive price hikes on same old products without any sort of improvement won’t bring any fruitful result for the company.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
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