Manufacturer Spotlight
- Date FoundedSeptember 24, 1948
- HeadquartersMinato, Tokyo, Japan
- Websitehttps://www.honda.com/
History
Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda, was interested in automobiles from a young age. Early on in his career, he was a mechanic for the Art Shokai garage. In the late 1930s, he founded Tōkai Seiki (Eastern Sea Precision Machine Company). Tōkai Seiki made piston rings; however, Honda had some failures that led him to lose out on a contract to competitor Toyota. This led Honda to attend engineering school (only to leave without graduating) and to visit Japanese factories to better learn his trade.
By 1941, Honda had turned his misfortunes around and was producing quality piston rings.
In 1949, Honda released its first motorcycle. By 1964, Honda was the worldwide leader in motorcycle manufacturing. August 1963 marked the first Honda vehicle release―a T360 mini pick-up truck. The first car to release was the S500 sports car in October 1963.
By 1986, Honda successfully broke into the American market with the release of the Acura brand.
Current Models
- Accord (1976–present)
- Amaze (2013–present)
- Avancier (1993–2003, 2016–present)
- Ballade (1980–1991, 2014–present)
- Brio (2011–present)
- BR-V (2015–present)
- City (1981–present)
- Civic (1972–present)
- Civic Tourer (2014–present)
- Civic Type R (1997–2010, 2015–present)
- Clarity (2008–2014, 2016–present)
- Crider (2013–present)
- CR-V (1996–present)
- CR-V S (2012–present)
- Elysion (2003–present)
- Fit/Jazz (2001–present)
- Fit Hybrid (2011–present)
- Fit Shuttle (2011–present)
- Freed (2008–present)
- Freed Spike (2008–present)
- Gienia (2016–present)
- Grace (2014–present)
- Greiz (2015–present)
- Hobio (2003–present)
- HR-V (1999–2005, 2015–present)
- Insight (2019–present)
- Jade (2013–present)
- Jazz RS (2005–present)
- Legend (1985–2012, 2014–present)
- MC-β (2013–present)
- Mobilio (2001-2008, 2014–present)
- Mobilio RS (2014–present)
- NSX (1990–2005, 2016–present, also badged as an Acura)
- N-Box (2012–present)
- N-Box+ (2012–present)
- N-Box Slash (2014–present)
- N-One (2012–present)
- N-Van (2018–present)
- N-WGN (2012–present)
- Odyssey/Shuttle (international market) (1995–present)
- Odyssey (North American market) (1995–present)
- Passport (2019–present)
- Pilot (2003–present)
- Ridgeline (2006–2014, 2016–present)
- S660 (2014–present)
- Shuttle (1994–present)
- Spirior (2014–present)
- StepWGN (1996–present)
- StepWGN Spada (2009–present)
- UR-V (2016–present)
- Vamos (1970–1973, 1999–present)
- Vezel (2013–present)
- WR-V (2017–present)
- XR-V (2015–present)
Discontinued Models
- S500
- S600/SM600
- S800
- S2000
- L700
- L800
- N360/N400
- N600
- 1300
- Accord Euro
- Spirior
- Accord Plug-in Hybrid
- Airwave
- Ascot
- Avancier
- Beat
- Capa
- Civic Hybrid
- Civic Natural Gas
- Concerto
- Crosstour
- CR-X
- CR-X del Sol
- Crossroad
- CR-Z HPD
- CR-Z
- Domani
- Edix
- Element
- EV Plus
- FCX
- Fit Aria
- Fit EV
- FR-V
- Inspire
- Insight
- Integra
- Jazz
- LaGreat
- Life
- Life Dunk
- Life StepVan
- Life Pick-Up
- Logo
- Mobilio Spike
- NSX-R
- Orthia
- Partner
- Passport
- Prelude
- Quint/Quintet
- Rafaga
- S-MX
- Saber
- Stream
- Today
- Torneo
- Zest
- Z