Honda Motor To Produce, Market Accord Sedan In Taiwan

TOKYO September 26, 2003; Dow Jones reporteds that Honda Motor Co. said Friday it plans to start production of its Accord sedan in Taiwan in October and aims to start marketing the model there in November.

The leading Japanese automaker will produce 10,000 Accords annually in Taiwan, a company spokesman said.

With Taiwan's car market recovering after hitting bottom two years ago, Honda aims to boost its sales there by expanding its car lineups and increasing the number of dealers, the spokesman said.

Although the automaker previously provided technological assistance to Taiwan's San Yang Industry Co. to manufacture and sell Honda cars, it didn't renew the contract with San Yang when it expired in June 2002.

After purchasing a car production plant from a local joint venture between Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Taiwan Vespa Co., Honda started its own production in Taiwan in January this year. It currently produces 10,000 units of CR-V sports-utility vehicles a year there.

The introduction of the Accord isn't expected to require a large amount of new capital expenditures, as Honda's production lines are flexible, the spokesman said.

After dissolving the alliance with San Yang, Honda has also been aiming to expand its dealer networks. The number of dealers, which currently stands at 20, is expected to rise to 30 by the end of this year and to 40 by the end of next year.

Honda also plans to further expand its car lineups in Taiwan, but no concrete plans have been made yet, the spokesman added.