Honda Australia has a spring in its step after the launch of the born-again Prelude sports activities automotive and updates for its best-seller, the CR-V mid-size SUV, together with an expanded hybrid lineup. But whereas rival manufacturers are posting document gross sales, Honda’s progress has remained modest.
The corporate has additionally needed to cut back its electrical car (EV) ambitions after the Japanese automaker axed most of its futuristic-looking 0 Collection fashions shortly earlier than their deliberate launch.
On the identical time, the introduction of Australia’s New Car Effectivity Customary (NVES) and document gasoline costs have made market situations much more difficult.
Even so, the model is lastly on monitor to achieve the 18,000 annual gross sales goal it set when it controversially switched to a fixed-price company gross sales mannequin in 2021, eliminating value negotiation throughout its now 84-strong nationwide seller community.
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Honda Australia’s present CEO Jay Joseph arrived from Honda’s US operations on the identical time Robert Thorp was promoted to the place of director in April 2025. After greater than a yr with new management, has the model lastly turned a nook? We sat down with Mr Thorp to search out out.
Honda Australia posted simply 0.8 per cent year-to-date gross sales progress after June 2026, a document month for new-vehicle gross sales in Australia. So why are you so joyful?
Sure, whenever you have a look at the year-on-year progress, we’re up perhaps one per cent, but it surely would not all the time reveal the complete story.
The underlying enterprise is actually sturdy in the intervening time, and June particularly was our highest order consumption in 4 years. They had been actual clients on the finish of these orders – it wasn’t us counting on non-private bought enterprise.
So while the year-on-year progress would not look sturdy, the well being of the underlying enterprise is actually good, and the actual fact we have that prime order consumption offers us plenty of confidence that what we’re doing throughout the enterprise, and the enhancements we’re making, are beginning to ship rewards.
I suppose for us it is type of additional validation that what we have deliberate for the second half of the yr, the place we do anticipate to see some retail progress year-on-year, means we’re trending the appropriate manner.
So we have simply launched the up to date CR-V and ZR-V, each of which have expanded hybrid lineups. Prelude has added some incremental progress, after which we have Tremendous-One, so every of these fashions we predict will begin to translate to real year-on-year progress by the point we get to the tip of the yr.
How a lot had been gross sales up by final month?
The order consumption was about 20 to 25 per cent greater than this time final yr.
What do you set the expansion right down to? As a result of the 2 fashions you talked about, the CR-V and ZR-V, had been the one two Honda fashions to see gross sales improve – and solely by small margins
The numbers are factually right. Do not get me incorrect, as a result of that is really what we delivered in June, however the underlying order demand, a few of which hasn’t been delivered to clients but, is what’s really giving us trigger for pleasure.
I believe it is probably not only one factor that we’re seeing drive that type of efficiency, it is a mixture of things. That is an enchancment within the enterprise that we have been driving for a while. New product – which completely helps – and the growth of the hybrid vary have been actually vital for us.
Launching a mannequin like Prelude generates plenty of curiosity, and it is added incremental ranges of demand, but it surely’s additionally issues like our ongoing relationship with our community, which we’re investing fairly closely in and attempting to make sure they’re engaged with the Honda enterprise.
It is issues like we have actually expanded our community coaching applications to make sure that whenever you stroll right into a Honda centre, there’s real assist and help there for you.
It is our possession applications, which I believe are lastly getting a little bit of traction out there, and our low-price servicing is a superb instance of that. You understand whenever you buy a car with Honda, you’ve got obtained that certainty of look after years to return.
So it is a mixture of these items, however all of them add layers of incremental enchancment to the enterprise. I believe that June quantity, that underlying demand that we’re speaking about, is validation of the enhancements we’re making. We’re beginning to see some outcomes come by way of.
The brand new Prelude discovered 86 clients final month, and 228 consumers since orders opened in April 2026. Are you proud of Prelude gross sales up to now?
To be sincere, I believe the primary couple of metrics that had been actually vital for us had been simply the extent of inquiry and curiosity within the mannequin itself, and we had an enormous variety of EOIs [expressions of interest].
We have had so many individuals stroll into showrooms, the web site site visitors’s been monumental, and Honda centres have had lots of people are available. Admittedly, not everybody’s there to purchase, however they’re curious, they usually’re kicking a couple of tyres.
However the degree of demand and curiosity in it has been extraordinary.
We all the time knew that it might take a little bit of time to curate that viewers after which convert it into retail, so it was going to be a little bit of a slower build-up. That being stated, the conversion metrics, the test-drive metrics and the pure supply metrics are just about all on-point, and it has been a really profitable launch for us to this point.
Do you imagine the Prelude’s $65,000 drive-away value is true?
Everybody does this too, however we have taken care with all of our mannequin launches not too long ago to attempt to guarantee we arrive on the proper value out there.
The best way our mannequin works is that it is a drive-away value, so it is all-inclusive. We do not play video games with a retail value after which all of the add-ons, which generally offers the notion that we’re dearer than the opponents.
However from a drive-away value level, we’re very cautious to ensure the quantity is the appropriate one for customers out there, and that quantity isn’t simply what you pay for the product, however the possession expertise as effectively.
That low-price servicing, as of in the present day, is $199 per service for 5 years, which I believe is just about one of the best out there, and should you do that you just robotically lengthen it to an eight-year guarantee, which I believe is a superb package deal.
So, whether or not it’s the Prelude, the CR-V or the ZR-V, we have taken actual care to ensure we get these value factors proper throughout the market, whereas additionally defending clients’ investments from a residual worth perspective, which is a extremely vital facet of our enterprise mannequin.
The place are you at with including extra EVs to the lineup? You talked about the 0 Collection Alpha is perhaps a candidate. Is that any nearer?
Yeah, we’re that. I am not able to substantiate something product-wise sooner or later, whether or not that’s EVs or hybrids or anything for that matter. However what I can say is that we’re very actively placing our hand as much as be within the dialog for any mannequin that’s produced globally, as as to if or not we will carry it right here domestically.
Not every little thing goes to work each time, for varied causes. Whether or not it’s manufacturing or R&D, it’s very costly, as you possibly can respect, bringing a automotive to market.
So there’s obtained to be a market right here – it has to make financial sense – however something that’s obtainable globally, we’re positively within the dialog to see whether or not or not we will make it work, and that is throughout each kind of powertrain, physique form, fashion, section, quick and gradual.
Is the main target nonetheless hybrids? Has the gasoline provide disaster modified you technique?
Probably not. I believe our technique has been really fairly agency and constant for some time, in that we had all the time had the method that we’d need to increase into hybrid earlier than pushing into EVs.
That hasn’t actually essentially modified and, you already know, pre-fuel disaster, post-fuel disaster, that technique does stay constant.
Actually, these moments do require you to pause and assume, and there are some small pivots, actually for the rest of this yr.
Simply by advantage of hybrid gross sales power, our ICE [internal combustion engine] demand has actually pulled away, and so we’re altering our product combine and arguably leaning more durable into that technique with hybrid, and for us that is working.
To take a look at the brand new CR-V and the brand new Honda ZR-V, in June itself, 96 per cent of our gross sales of these two fashions had been hybrid in nature, which simply exhibits that the technique for us is definitely working.
If we had a BEV [battery-electric vehicle] that’d be nice. We simply do not have one obtainable in the intervening time. Tremendous-One will hopefully fill that hole, however the gasoline disaster hasn’t brought about us to make elementary shifts to our product lineup or technique.
It does require some micro-adjustments with our plans, I suppose. The place it does add layers of issue is simply the fee base of the enterprise, whether or not it’s logistics, provide and so forth, which may be very troublesome to handle.
Find out how to handle that inflated value base is awkward, as a result of there are some parts customers could possibly soak up, however there are different elements the place finally your revenue will get squeezed, and that is the place it will get fairly difficult. We’re having a battle in the intervening time.
You talked about it might be good to have an EV. Given the document progress in EV market share to virtually 1 / 4 of the market, do you’re feeling Honda’s lacking out?
Actually, if I may wave my magic wand, would I’ve one in that type of medium or small SUV section? Most likely, sure. However that being stated, I am unable to wave that wand.
We have to cope with what’s in entrance of us. We nonetheless essentially imagine in our hybrid technique.
I nonetheless imagine essentially that, for the overwhelming majority of individuals, the transition to hybrid remains to be a extra pure transition than going from an ICE setting to a BEV.
I nonetheless assume that there is going to be a large marketplace for each to achieve success, and so for us hybrid is the place it is at, and that is what our precedence is.
Talking about EVs, you talked about Tremendous-One. How shut are you to saying the value? Any indication of the place will probably be positioned out there?
I might like to [tell you] as a result of I am very wanting to get this one going. The curiosity has been phenomenal, and I am unable to say something in the present day, however we’re not far-off.
I can say that we’ve performed a good bit of labor. It’s most likely not too dissimilar to our pricing method with Prelude, CR-V and Honda ZR-V.
We spent a good bit of time learning the market, chatting with our community. We have even spoken to some customers, we have listened to plenty of media commentary, in addition to noticed pricing abroad.
We’re very snug that after we announce pricing, which can be very quickly, will probably be the appropriate quantity for the market.
I can say that, in chatting with a variety of our shut community companions, and the place we’re planning to pitch it, they’re very assured that it will appeal to a major variety of clients to showrooms and convert into a great quantity of gross sales.
Why do you assume BYD is presently so profitable? Honda solely has a couple of nameplates relative to Toyota, and BYD is ramping up its mannequin vary. Does that make you need to increase the lineup?
I do not actually need to remark an excessive amount of on BYD or different manufacturers. I believe, to be honest to them, what they’ve performed has been fairly extraordinary, and I need to admit it’s troublesome to essentially put a finger on why, within the area of a handful of years, they have been in a position to simply explode when it comes to their numbers.
I believe at some point it will make an fascinating case examine for a college course on advertising and marketing or one thing else, I reckon.
So, look, I do not need to converse to that an excessive amount of, however my hat’s off to all of them, they’ve performed an important job. For us, I believe, to reply that type of query – mannequin growth or focus – really our technique is a little bit of each.
I’d say within the brief time period, over the subsequent 12 to 18 months or so, our precedence is to essentially solidify our present lineup, and I believe we have, in CR-V and HR-V particularly, actually well-known, established and trusted nameplates which have a historical past of actual success in these segments.
I believe these two fashions particularly do have progress potential within the present setting.
I believe our greatest problem is simply getting extra individuals to test-drive them, as a result of when you drive them, there’s an innate high quality {that a} spec sheet would not actually clarify correctly. You need to go and really feel it.