Cheap bikes save Honda from financial ruin

New Honda President Takanobu Ito says the motorcycle arm of the firm is more important to the Japanese giant than ever before and has been the only reason Honda managed to post a profit in 2009.

Ito has been President for five months, after being promoted from the head of the Honda cars, and has been forced to deal with the worst economic crisis in decades, with sales of cars and high-end motorcycles falling off a cliff.

He told MCN: “It has been around a year that Honda has been feeling the effects of the world financial crisis and we have seen sales dive as a result of that. This has been the same for most companies selling mobility products. The difference for Honda has been that we have still been able to generate a profit thanks to the motorcycle business.”

Read the full story in the December 30 issue of MCN.