Acura organizes new business division to confront falling sedan sales
02-26-14, 01:08 PM
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Acura organizes new business division to confront falling sedan sales
Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2014/02/26/a...r-sedan-sales/
Its about time they did something about this sinking ship.
Honda and Acura North America have announced a major restructuring of operations in hopes of turning around Acura's flagging business. For 2013, sales for Acura's sedans dropped 10.4 percent, while its CUV sales grew by 21 percent. The newly formed Acura Business Planning Office will attempt to right the ship.
As part of the restructuring, Acura is promoting Erik Berkman from President of Honda R&D Americas to lead a new division called the Acura Business Planning Office. Berkman has been with Honda since 1982 and led development of the 2006 Accord. He was also the first US engineer to head North American research and development and has been head of Honda Performance Development since 2008. "Erik's appointment to the new Acura Business Planning Office is a clear indication of the high priority we place on Acura," said Honda spokesperson Jeffrey Smith to Automotive News.
American Honda Motor President and CEO Tetsuo Iwamura is also going to be working to improve the business. He has been elected chairman of American Honda's board, and has simultaneously taken the new position of Corporate Brand Officer to improve the management of the company's brands.
Acura has already made moves to change its strategy. The new TLX sedan will be on sale by the end of the year and will consolidate the TSX and TL into a single model. The North American restructuring comes just days after Honda announced that Hideko Kunii would become the first woman to join the company's board of directors. Scroll down for the press release with the full list of job changes.
As part of the restructuring, Acura is promoting Erik Berkman from President of Honda R&D Americas to lead a new division called the Acura Business Planning Office. Berkman has been with Honda since 1982 and led development of the 2006 Accord. He was also the first US engineer to head North American research and development and has been head of Honda Performance Development since 2008. "Erik's appointment to the new Acura Business Planning Office is a clear indication of the high priority we place on Acura," said Honda spokesperson Jeffrey Smith to Automotive News.
American Honda Motor President and CEO Tetsuo Iwamura is also going to be working to improve the business. He has been elected chairman of American Honda's board, and has simultaneously taken the new position of Corporate Brand Officer to improve the management of the company's brands.
Acura has already made moves to change its strategy. The new TLX sedan will be on sale by the end of the year and will consolidate the TSX and TL into a single model. The North American restructuring comes just days after Honda announced that Hideko Kunii would become the first woman to join the company's board of directors. Scroll down for the press release with the full list of job changes.
02-26-14, 01:15 PM
#3
Yep they need it, but at the same time the already revamped product needs revamping. The TLX looks very promising and actually looks decent, but the problem is it's still almost 9 months away. Meanwhile you have the ILX which was DOA, and the RLX which has taken a beating from reviews. Mechanically it's sound and build quality is good, but that's about all. It fails to impress and is quickly forgotten. Like the Civic, I think these sedans need an emergency refresh too. And yes, more differentiation is needed to justify the premium you pay for an A vs an H on your hood.
02-26-14, 01:18 PM
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As many have stated they should pull a Hyundai/Kia and just have a big stronger Honda lineup. Its kind of ridiculous to even read they need to do this to figure out how to sell a sedan. The ILX was all we needed to know about how clueless they are about the luxury market, let alone what they did to the TSX, TL and RLX.
02-26-14, 01:31 PM
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I wonder if theres much they can do now, after so many years of wasting away any brand equity they ever had. But looking at Cadillac, there is hope, only if Honda is ready to put substantial resources into giving Acura competitive products.
02-26-14, 01:37 PM
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Good.
Leadership change is the only thing that will fix things. Honda and Acura are filled with extremely talented engineers and designers that could and would take on the world, if only they were allowed to. Hopefully this will get things going in the right direction.
Leadership change is the only thing that will fix things. Honda and Acura are filled with extremely talented engineers and designers that could and would take on the world, if only they were allowed to. Hopefully this will get things going in the right direction.
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02-26-14, 02:29 PM
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only acura i ever cared about was Integra Type R and NSX. came very close to buying type R back in 90's, but decided to buy 3 series. i did own MDX. decent SUV. was happy with it for 3 years.
02-26-14, 04:44 PM
#14
Acura does need this shake up, and Toyota/Lexus/Scion Product Planning does too.
02-26-14, 05:50 PM
#15
The pursuit of F
As many of you have stated in similar ways, Product Differentiation from Honda is not enough and why as a past avid Acura fan/owner and current luxury car consumer, am not interested any longer in Acura. This is my fear with the way Toyota is catching up to Lexus (or the other way around), aka Avalon/ES and Highlander/RX.