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Besides revealing  RM500-2,500 price drops for its post-GST range , Honda Malaysia also shared at a recent media gathering its to-date sales performance and plans for the future. As of the first quarter of 2015, the company remains the  top-selling non-national passenger carmaker , with 6,522 cars sold in January and 6,041 in February. In March, despite the uncertainty surrounding the impending GST, Honda Malaysia managed to shift over 9,000 cars – its highest monthly sales in history. Add the three months up and you get 21,563 units – 38% up from the same period last year. “Moving forward in 2015, the forecasted TIV (total industry volume) is 697,000 units with a 4.6% growth. Our sales target for this year is 85,000 units and we have entered 2015 on a high note,” said MD and CEO Yoichiro Ueno. Click to enlarge The highly-popular  HR-V  has collected over 10,000 bookings since its February launch, resulting in a long waiting period. Ueno ext...

The Honda HR-V has been launched in Thailand. The B-segment SUV is positioned as a “premium sport crossover” in the Land of Smiles and is only available in 1.8 litre form, paired to a CVT automatic gearbox. In keeping with the premium positioning, there’s no 1.5L or manual version in Thailand. The 1.8 litre engine is question makes 141 PS at 6,500 rpm and 172 Nm of torque at 4,300 rpm, similar to the one in the Civic 1.8 . The SOHC i-VTEC unit is paired to Honda’s G Design Shift CVT automatic gearbox. The engine is E85 biofuel compatible for the Thai market. The HR-V sits on the platform that underpins the B-segment City and Jazz duo, but its wheelbase is the longest in the family at 2,610 mm, 10 mm longer than the sedan and 80 mm longer than the hatch. Being an SUV, it’s the tallest too – all versions ride on 17-inch alloys with 215/55 tyres. Three grades are on offer in Thailand – S, E and EL. Standard on the entry-level S grade are Ultra Seats, Smart Key (keyless entry) wit...

By now, you would be familiar with the Takata airbag recall issue – the Japanese parts maker’s airbags have been the focus of a series of massive recalls since 2008, involving over 17 million vehicles worldwide, according to  Reuters . The recalls involve improperly-manufactured airbag inflators – in a crash, the inflator could rupture and cause, in extreme cases, metal shards from the airbag casing to be sprayed at the occupants, potentially maiming or killing them. The flawed part has been linked to at least four deaths in the US and a considerable number of injuries. Initially, the component in question was the front passenger airbag inflator, but lately it has emerged that a Malaysian, travelling in a 2003 Honda City that contained a defective airbag, was killed in a collision in July, and it was the driver’s airbag inflator that ruptured, sending shrapnel flying inside the car. The Malaysian incident is not only the first related death outside the US, but als...

It looks like the new 2014 Honda Jazz has landed on our shores – reader Rozaimi sighted this trailer near the Bukit Jelutong toll carrying two units of the B-segment hatch. They’re completely covered up with a white cloth but we’re think no other hatchback of that shape and size would be sharing a trailer with a shipment of Honda City , agreed? The Jazz’s Malaysian launch will happen some time this year, following the Thailand launch which saw multiple variants launched from RM55k. Listings on oto.my have suggested a few launch dates from July to September – a pretty wide spectrum, but dealers have been known to be wrong thanks to the principal giving out conservative dates to play it safe. We’re predicting a third quarter 2014 launch for this one. The 2014 Honda Jazz’s drivetrain should be similar to our Honda City ‘s, comprising a 120 PS/145 Nm 1.5 litre SOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder motor and a CVT automatic transmission. The Thailand spec car s...