Honda Motorcycle Production: 1948-2019 Global Expansion - Essay Sample

Introduction

Honda motorcycle was developed in 1948 and started vast motorcycle production form the first international production firm in 1963 in Belgium. After the preliminary mass production, the company has grown globally due to local production principle which is fundamental to demand. The company currently is making various types of motorcycles in 21 countries with about 35 facilities with bikes ranging from 50cc commuters to 1800cc designs (Honda Motor Company, 2019). After Honda got founded, it has designed and offered that attain the consumer needs in various regions with the principle that "the purpose of technology is to help people." From its hard work, the company in 1997 reached its milestone of 100 million units. By 2014, it had reached its milestone of 300 million units (Honda Motor Company, 2019). For the first time in history, Honda surpassed by 20 million units the yearly production in 2018 (Honda Motor Company, 2019). Currently, the company has obtained customer satisfaction with its products globally and in the Asian region. There is a rising demand for innovative Honda development and production framework which motivates continued production. In 2019, Honda attained the milestone of 400 million units for the worldwide overall output of the motorcycle which is just five years since it achieved the 300-million-unit production milestone (Honda Motor Company, 2019). The purpose of the study is to determine if the market is ready for the release of the CRF1100L Africa Twin Adventure Sports.

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The target of the study is the Africa Twin Adventure Sports Es. On September 23, 2019, Honda introduced Africa twin platforms with two model versions providing consumers with broader options (Giacomini, 2019). The introduction of the product gets meant to create a sense of anxiety on the consumers as they wait for its release. The research aims to fully understand the Africa twin adventure sport unit due to its delicate parts. Riders from all over are intrigued with the new set of Africa Twin and are waiting to try it out and most of them are males. Clearly, after its inception, it has created the urge for the more advanced version of the product and this has been made to embrace the best of the motor industry. The two versions are lighter benefiting from sophisticated electronic rider aids suites. It offers real long-haul practicability and ability. Also, it contains a 6.5-gallon tank, aluminum rear rack, larger skid plate, accessory socket, heated grips, tubeless wheels and intelligent Showa Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment Suspension (Calif, 2019). The Africa Twin Adventure sports version gains its benefits from technology promoting confidence and comfort in long distances riders. The design of the adventure sports is to take the product to a different level beginning with a bigger tank increased from five gallons to 6.5 (Calif, 2019). It has integrated axillary lighting at the front, full sump guard, taller windscreen, heated handgrips, accessory socket and a luggage rack. It has been fitted with a 6.5-inch TFT display that provides access to model functions such as ABS deactivation, Bluetooth connectivity and Apple CarPlay (Calif, 2019).

Relevance of the Research Question

I have always wondered about the success of Honda motorcycles in the motor industry. The company provides a wide variety of quality, designs and models (Sunil, 2017, p. 347). The products from Honda motorcycles are highly prized especially Honda Powersports. The company has had many units winning awards and present a landmark in the bike industry. Honda products are flexible, fitting in the generation and handle the track and modern life. Over time, Honda has proven to supersede the best designs in the motor industry. The company has produced the most versatile and reliable bikes in the market, in particular, the CRF1000L Africa Twin Model. The Africa Twin has proved its status as a legendary adventure motorcycle in terms of off-roading being the best super sport bike above the others. The Africa Twin gets powered with a 998cc liquid-cooled four-stroke parallel-twin engine. The engine is peculiar sending power to the back wheel through a dual-clutch automatic; it is light, tall and agile. Also, it is made with a choice of transmission, adjustable riding and lengthy travel suspensions.

Research Design

Descriptive research design focuses on quantifying of the demand for the products from Honda motorcycles. The need for the Honda Africa Twin gets highly anticipated as the adventurer has been developed for the second generation with advanced specifications. From its inception, the versatile Africa Twin has created the unprecedented capability for off-road adventure and pavement excitement for motorcyclists. The reintroduction of the product has developed an increase in demand hence causing Honda to invest in upgrading comfort, safety, maneuverability and performance in the dirt for riders to pursue True Adventure (Calif, 2019). The is a positive view of the consumers some claiming it will help them due to their height. However, most of the users are complaining about the standard Cruise control on the motorcycle. To some of the cruise control is critical because some three k to four k mile adventures require a sophisticated cruise control. Before its final release, Honda should make adjustments and add shaft drive and complex cruise control.

One rider said that "Too often in the comments sections I read about people complaining about this bike, or that bike being too tall. Well at 6 4 I have had to modify my bike (if possible) to fit my height. Most bikes I ride make me feel cramped. I can't comfortably stand up while off-road riding and my legs are quite bent while sitting. Kudos to Honda for making a bike for the taller rider... I'm excited to throw a leg over the new ATAS to see how it feels and hope to put one in my garage this summer. Thanks, Honda" (Drevenstedt, 2018).

Survey research methodology utilized in the study entails processes in quantitative research where researchers administer a survey of the sample group to obtain characteristics, behaviors or opinions of the Honda consumers who are majorly riders. Standardized procedures get used to collect data ensuring the respondents provide unbiased opinions impacting the research positively. Web surveys are used in this research because they possess the optimum amount of information necessary for the study. Online surveys entail collection and analysis of data with a high response rate.

Qualitative instrument entails record keeping utilizing already existing sources and documents that are reliable as sources of data. The documents and sources from Honda motorcycles act as reference data and material in the collection of relevant data used in the research. The accuracy of the data is obtained by assessing errors and removing inaccurate data and prepare for analysis. The materials used have been reviewed and are verified articles from renowned magazines and company websites.

Secondary Data

The secondary data involves information obtained from existing data form internal and external sources of the organization. The marketing information system analyzes and evaluates marketing data collected continuously for the internal and external sources of the organization. Marketing data obtained on time enables the company to make decisions on promotion, media selection, distribution, packaging, pricing and product improvement or development (Juneja, 2015). The secondary data used improves the specificity of the primary data used and enables the ability to discover deficiencies and gaps and any other additional material required to be used. It enhances the knowledge of the problem in the research and the objective of the study. Also, it offers a platform to compare the information gathered during the survey. Accounting resources which are internal sources of data provide information on the accumulated income of Honda Motorcycles. Internal experts also provide information on the working of the Africa twin because they head significant departments in the Honda company.

Primary Data

The primary data obtained from syndicate services provide Honda that collects and tabulate information of the market regularly from several clients who have subscribed to Honda products and services. The services from syndicate get developed where the data meets the needs of the subscriber. The data was collected using a survey (general topics, sociographic, lifestyle), mail delivery panel (media and purchase) and electronic scanner services that generate volume data (Juneja, 2015). The data from the syndicate services help to promote better decisions due to the changing environment in the motor industry. They provide information at a lower unit cost to Honda industry.