Author Topic: 2018 New car sales  (Read 5190 times)

richardfrost

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #15 on: January 11, 2019, 05:20:58 PM »
I stand to be corrected here but am I right in thinking that Honda's hybrid cars were incapable of electric only running? We use a local taxi firm if we are going out and alcohol will be involved and they use the Prius. For the first half mile or so as we leave the estate it's in EV mode only.

My main car is a Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. It has the exact same setup as a Prius with two differences, it has a 2.5l petrol engine and an additional electric motor driving the rear wheels, giving it occasional 4 wheel drive. It does have an EV mode but this only works when there is enough charge in the battery and the power drain (combination of accelerator setting and incline) is low enough. So I can be in EV mode at 50mph on a downhill (technically not electrically driven so much as power regeneration) or whilst tootling around in Tesco car parks sneaking up on unsuspecting pensioners in silent mode. For all intents and purposes, Toyota's hybrid system is about making the petrol engine run as efficiently as possible. It is not about electric only propulsion. I suspect that Honda's system is very similar.

Having said all of that, I believe there is a new generation in the latest Prius and Lexus vehicles which is more like the Mitsubishi system and able to go up to 20 miles in EV mode.

It does surprise me, given Honda have been into Hybrid technology for a couple of decades now, that they do not have more capable systems and more vehicles around using these systems. Jaguar LandRover are paying the price for their lax approach to engine technology, focussing on diesel as a single approach for way too long. They are beyond the point where they can revert to petrol now, and yet electric is years from being fully capable. So they are in the brown stuff. Honda would seem to be OK in that they still have some great petrol offerings and I would think they should be pushing hard on hybrid now to clean up in the market left by the diesel dependant manufacturers.

John Ratsey

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #16 on: January 11, 2019, 06:04:08 PM »
I stand to be corrected here but am I right in thinking that Honda's hybrid cars were incapable of electric only running? We use a local taxi firm if we are going out and alcohol will be involved and they use the Prius. For the first half mile or so as we leave the estate it's in EV mode only.
Honda's IMA system (with a motor-genertor instead of the flywheel on the end of the engine) was a significant step in the hybrid direction when it was introduced at the end of the last century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Motor_Assist but was outdated by the time it arrived here in the Jazz in 2011. Perhaps the main drawback was not having a lithium battery so there was more weight and less capacity (in my experience the Jazz could run on battery for about 1/4 mile on a favourable slope but don't expect more from a 13HP motor). The system provided some improvement in economy under stop-start conditions. Honda might have sold more had it stressed the smoothness of the driving experience as the motor provided some extra low-end power.

It does surprise me, given Honda have been into Hybrid technology for a couple of decades now, that they do not have more capable systems and more vehicles around using these systems.
Honda have hybrid systems running in their vehicles elsewhere in the world. Go to Colombo in Sri Lanka and you will see loads of Mk 3 Jazzes and HR-Vs with "hybrid" labels. They've been cautious about offering another hybrid in the UK (and Europe?) after the weak sales of the Mk 2 hybrid Jazz but you can now order a CR-V with Honda's iMMD system (see my previous post). I'm optimistic that we will see hybrid versions of the other Honda models show up here within the next 2-3 years. Perhaps first will be the Civic given that it shares a platform with the CR-V. There are also a few Honda Clarity vehicles https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/new/coming-soon/clarity-fuel-cell/overview.html being tested here. However, how soon this technology gets scaled down remains to be seen but, in the long term, it could be a viable alternative to battery-only vehicles.
2022 HR-V Elegance, previously 2020 Jazz Crosstar

Jocko

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #17 on: January 11, 2019, 06:18:11 PM »
Jaguar LandRover are paying the price for their lax approach to engine technology, focussing on diesel as a single approach for way too long. They are beyond the point where they can revert to petrol now, and yet electric is years from being fully capable. So they are in the brown stuff.
I think they will survive, purely because it is Jaguar and Land Rover. Both have such a following. But things are not going to be easy for JLR.

MartinJG

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #18 on: January 11, 2019, 07:19:02 PM »
Jaguar LandRover are paying the price for their lax approach to engine technology, focussing on diesel as a single approach for way too long. They are beyond the point where they can revert to petrol now, and yet electric is years from being fully capable. So they are in the brown stuff.
I think they will survive, purely because it is Jaguar and Land Rover. Both have such a following. But things are not going to be easy for JLR.

I would not rule out diesel just yet. Electric is surely the future but depending on the way Brexit pans out and economics prevail (treading on eggshells here) we may yet see politics play its twisted hand on the grounds of expedience.

richardfrost

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #19 on: January 11, 2019, 11:30:43 PM »
Jaguar LandRover are paying the price for their lax approach to engine technology, focussing on diesel as a single approach for way too long. They are beyond the point where they can revert to petrol now, and yet electric is years from being fully capable. So they are in the brown stuff.
I think they will survive, purely because it is Jaguar and Land Rover. Both have such a following. But things are not going to be easy for JLR.

I would not rule out diesel just yet. Electric is surely the future but depending on the way Brexit pans out and economics prevail (treading on eggshells here) we may yet see politics play its twisted hand on the grounds of expedience.
I won’t be going back to Diesel that’s for sure. But I posted a while back about the pace of change in propulsion technology, and to a certain degree automation, and how I don’t believe I will buy another car outright again. Short term leasing for me I think. Until things settle down.

123Drive!

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #20 on: January 12, 2019, 12:09:31 AM »
Going off track but JLR never sit down and blame themselves for poor sales-look how badly they preformed over the years on reliability and customer service. When people have money and change their cars every 3 yrs, you get away with it. But when money is tight, consumers are going to go for something more reliable and reassuring. Plus the fact they never once thought about developing more environmentally friendly engines until the last few years doesn't help.

Hence Honda needs to review their sales and marketing too. Yes, they have reliable cars and good customer service, but why aren't they selling more like Toyota? Lack of financial deals and variety on the range springs to mind.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2019, 12:16:46 AM by 123Drive! »

MartinJG

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #21 on: January 12, 2019, 11:21:30 AM »
Going off track but JLR never sit down and blame themselves for poor sales-look how badly they preformed over the years on reliability and customer service. When people have money and change their cars every 3 yrs, you get away with it. But when money is tight, consumers are going to go for something more reliable and reassuring. Plus the fact they never once thought about developing more environmentally friendly engines until the last few years doesn't help.

Hence Honda needs to review their sales and marketing too. Yes, they have reliable cars and good customer service, but why aren't they selling more like Toyota? Lack of financial deals and variety on the range springs to mind.

I think that is largely true of all the UK based dealerships over the years which is why home grown producers either died or were taken over. Smoke and fire routine. Fact is, the industry sees the UK as a relatively easy market to plunder in more ways than one. Oddly enough, Skoda dealers in the early days when they were first taken over by VW were generally good becasue most of them were home grown family owned outfits but bit by bit, corporate culture took over and it seems the attitudes and standard of service has declined. Let's face it, the UK is increasingly a glorified retail park on credit for the benefit of big business. Nothing like a captive audience to swell the coffers.

madasafish

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Re: 2018 New car sales
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2019, 08:33:13 PM »
Honda in UK are running a profit maximisation strategy. That was what the UK MD stated some 2 years ago : and that is what they are doing..  Volume is not an issue..

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