Honda car manufacturing date

[TnTkr]

I have trying to find out when my car has been manufactured, but with little success this far. In some other brands (e.g. Peugeot, Mercedes) the date of assembly can be easily found from car information on dealer systems. But that does not seem the case with Honda. I tried to ask Honda Europe Logistics when the car arrived to Belgium, but they didn't reply to my email.

Is there any way to find out when the car is made i.e. assembled?

Some dates I have found out this far:
- Model year according to VIN is 2019
- The car arrived to dealer 21st January 2020
- CoC signed by Honda Europe homologation manager 31st May 2019
- Interior trim panels have manufacturing stamps August or September 2018

I would assume the car has been assembled on September or October 2018.

The reason why I want to find this out is our family peculiarity that cars are family members and birthdays are celebrated 

[Jocko]

The reason why I want to find this out is our family peculiarity that cars are family members and birthdays are celebrated

I do the same but birthday is the date it came into my possession! Does the VIN number not give date of manufacture?

[TnTkr]

The reason why I want to find this out is our family peculiarity that cars are family members and birthdays are celebrated

I do the same but birthday is the date it came into my possession! Does the VIN number not give date of manufacture?

Unfortunately not, the VIN is according to standard ISO 3779 and directive 76/114/EEC and it states only model year, and companies typically begin to manufacture next model year between May and July.

[springswood]

I celebrate the days I got my rescue dogs, as their birthdays were not known, and call it their gotcha day.

[Jazzmeister]

The date stamp on the trim is when the trim was manufactured not when your vehicle was put together

[TnTkr]

The date stamp on the trim is when the trim was manufactured not when your vehicle was put together

Yes sure I know that. But knowing how streamlined the manufacturing processes are in car industry and especially in Japanese car industry, there is certainly no stock of parts for many days production in the factory and also possible sub suppliers are working very much hand to hand with the assembly rate, not making big stock of parts many months before deliveries to car assembly plant. Therefore the trim manufacturing date gives good hint of the car's assembly time. Especially when the same two months appear consistently in various parts not only in interior but also in engine room including the engine itself.   

[culzean]

The date stamp on the trim is when the trim was manufactured not when your vehicle was put together

Yes sure I know that. But knowing how streamlined the manufacturing processes are in car industry and especially in Japanese car industry, there is certainly no stock of parts for many days production in the factory and also possible sub suppliers are working very much hand to hand with the assembly rate, not making big stock of parts many months before deliveries to car assembly plant. Therefore the trim manufacturing date gives good hint of the car's assembly time. Especially when the same two months appear consistently in various parts not only in interior but also in engine room including the engine itself.

+1

I have worked in first tier car assembly supplier and they do not keep stock - Just in time means exactly that.... and it is hard on suppliers, bad for your nerves...

[John Ratsey]

- Model year according to VIN is 2019
- The car arrived to dealer 21st January 2020
- CoC signed by Honda Europe homologation manager 31st May 2019
- Interior trim panels have manufacturing stamps August or September 2018

I would assume the car has been assembled on September or October 2018.

I would expect there to be no more than 3 months between assembly and the vehicle arriving in Europe which suggests that it was sitting in a stockyard for many months. Did you choose an unloved colour or specification?

[TnTkr]

I bought a car that was on dealer's showroom. I know that Jazz 1.5 Dynamic production for Europe was closed by the end of MY2019 production, which is maybe in spring or early summer 2019. Nevertheless no such cars were available from Finland in 2020 anymore, but plenty of new ones in all colors in Honda dealers around Germany and Benelux countries. So we bought ours from Luxembourg.

I made some research about the Jazz's route from the factory to the dealer. Jazzes and Fits are manufactured in Yorii plant of the Saitama factory about 70 km north-west from Tokyo and transported supposedly by train to Yokohama port for export. Then shipped for Europe to Zeebrugge, Belgium (avg. time at sea 53 days) and transported by road to Gent, Belgium, where cars are stored and eventually sent to dealers around the Europe.

I think your estimation of about 3 months from assembly to Europe is right, provided that they are not waiting for shipping any extended period of time.

I am wondering if Honda Europe signs the CoC already when the car is manufactured and dedicated for Europe or after it has already arrived to Belgium. In any case it seems to have been sitting in a stockyard either in Yokohama or in Gent for more than a year.

[TnTkr]

As it appears there is little info about figuring out the DoM from public sources, I sent again an email to Honda. We'll see if they bother to answer this time.

[TnTkr]

Honda Motor Europe Ltd Benelux branch answered almost immediately. Now I know, that my Jazz was manufactured 13th September 2018. So it took over 16 months from factory to dealer. At least one year in stockyards either in Japan or in Belgium. For me that tells that 1,5 Dynamic was significantly less popular in Europe than Honda estimated.

[John Ratsey]

- CoC signed by Honda Europe homologation manager 31st May 2019

Was getting the CoC signed a significant contribution to the overall delay?

[TnTkr]

I don't think so, although I don't know for sure. There is a dedicated gentleman in Honda Motors Europe in Belgium for signing the CoCs, so it is company internal task. I suppose that CoC was signed around the time my Jazz arrived to Europe.

I'm guessing that maybe my car has stayed in Japan for some months to give way for the cars which are actually orderd by customer or dealer. Maybe there was already several unsold Skyride Blue 6MT Dynamics in Honda's stockyard in Europe.

[RichardA]

My Mk1 has March 2007 stamped on the seatbelt labels. I ordered the car in late June of that year and collected it early July. Mine is a Japanese-made example, Chinese-made Mk1s were already at dealers by that time.