This: the multinational corporation

The company manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, scooters, robots, jets and jet engines, ATV, water craft, electrical generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment, and aeronautical and other mobile technologies. Honda's line of luxury cars are branded Acura in North America and Ben Tian in China. More recently they have ventured into mountain bikes.

Honda is the 6th largest automobile manufacturer in the world as well as the largest engine-maker in the world, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. In August 2008, Honda surpassed Chrysler as the 4th largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Currently, Honda is the second largest manufacturer in Japan behind Toyota and ahead of Nissan.

Background

With high fuel prices and a weak US economy in June 2008, Honda has reported a 1% sales increase while its rivals, including the Detroit Big Three and Toyota, have reported double-digit losses. Honda's sales were up almost 20 percent from the same month last year. The Civic and the Accord were in the top five list of sales. Analysts have attributed this to two main factors. First, Honda's product lineup consists of mostly small to mid-size, highly fuel-efficient vehicles. Secondly, over the last ten years, Honda has designed its factories to be flexible, in that they can be easily retooled to produce any Honda model that may be in-demand at the moment.

Honda, Nissan, and Toyota, three of the strongest vehicle companies in the world, were still not immune to the global financial crisis of 2008, as these companies reduced their profitability forecasts. The economic crisis has been spreading to other important players in the vehicle related industries as well.

Honda spends about 5% of its revenues into R&D.

History

In October 1946, Soichiro Honda established the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan, to develop and produce small 2-cycle motorbike engines. Two years later, Honda Motor Company, Ltd. was born, and in 1959 Honda opened its first storefront in Los Angeles with six industrious employees. This first store front location closed April 25 2009 due to declined sales. Furthermore, Langley B.C. Honda will shutting down its Honda of Canada operations effective April 2009.Fact: date=May 2009

The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck.Fact: date=May 2009 Powered by a small 356 cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket.Fact: date=May 2009

The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car.Fact: date=May 2009 It's chain driven rear wheels points to Honda's motorcycle origins.Fact: date=May 2009