Honda Malaysia hits a sales home run, still top dog for non-national car sales

KUALA LUMPUR: Honda Malaysia just hit a home run, smashing their 2023 sales target with over 80,000 vehicles flying off the shelves. And get this – they've been the top dog in the Non-National Passenger Vehicle Segment for a whole decade, since 2014!

The past year was all about bouncing back and staying positive, and they totally nailed it by launching four fresh models in the latter half of the year, including the crowd-pleasers WR-V, City, Civic Type R, and the All-New CR-V.

The stars of the show? The City, HR-V, and City Hatchback, bagging 30%, 25%, and 13% of total sales, respectively. Plus, the WR-V, HR-V, CR-V, and Civic each aced it in their segments.

Mr. Hironobu Yoshimura, Honda Malaysia 's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said, "2023 proved to be a challenging year where we faced a competitive market. However, Honda Malaysia managed to overcome and achieved our sales target in 2023 with strong support from our dealers and the Malaysian Government. Additionally, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all Honda customers who have played a crucial role in this achievement through their unwavering support towards the Honda brand.”

The WR-V was a massive hit right out of the gate, especially the RS variant, which made up a whopping 60% of its sales. In just six months, they sold over 7,800 of these beauties.

And there's more good news – their hybrid models (e:HEV) zoomed from 4,100 units in 2022 to over 7,700 in 2023. That's a good 87% jump! IInterestingly, these e:HEV models made up 28% of all hybrid sales in Malaysia last year.

Looking forward to 2024, Honda Malaysia is all pumped up and ready to keep bringing top-notch products, sales, and after-sales services. Their most recent launch was the 6th-gen CR-V, offered in four variants with prices starting from RM159,900.

Honda Malaysia also only just recently revealed the price of the Honda CR-V RS Hybrid, retailing at RM RM 195,900. The CR-V hybrid is powered by an Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) drivetrain comprising an electric motor and a 2.0-litre NA Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine acting as a generator. The setup churns out a total system output of 184 PS and 335 Nm. Sending power to the front wheels is an e-CVT gearbox.

Performance-wise, the hybrid CR-V runs from zero to 100 kmph in 9.0 seconds (quicker than non-hybrids) and attains a top speed of 187 kmph (slightly lower than non-hybrids). The fuel consumption is rated at 5 litres per 100 km (20 kmpl), making it notably efficient compared to non-hybrid models that consume almost 7L/100 km.

For anyone keen on checking out Honda's lineup, just pop into any of their 101 authorized dealerships or hit up their website.

Also Read: Comparison: Toyota Vios Hybrid vs Honda City RS e:HEV - Which will reign supreme?