Honda Leads Industry Awards

TULLAMARINE, UNITED KINGDOM – October 29, 2009: Honda Motor Co. has reinforced its leadership position at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, with recognition of its dominance of the Japan Car of the Year award.

Since the award’s inception in 1980, a Honda model has won Japan’s Car of the Year award ten times, the most of any car manufacturer. The Civic has won a record four titles, followed by three awards for the Accord and two for the Fit (called the Jazz in Australia), most recently in 2007-08.

Honda continues to achieve widespread recognition from the industry and motoring journalists, particularly within leading awards schemes such as Japan Car of the Year as a result of its ongoing commitment to innovation, sustainability and manufacturing excellence. The Honda Insight was one of 10 finalists in the Japan Car of the Year for 2009.

Honda, which this year celebrates 60 years of success in Japan and 40 in Australia, is expected to add to its already impressive trophy cabinet with the release of a number of new models to extend its hybrid range to include the Insight and a hybrid sports model based on the CR-Z concept.

The annual Japan Car of the Year award is decided by a supervisory board, primarily made up of Japanese automotive journalists. The award is open to newly launched or redesigned vehicles released to the Japanese market between November of the previous year and the end of October of the current, with each award spanning two calendar years.