Honda Indonesia's Strategy Amid the Dynamics of the National Automotive Industry

JAKARTA — PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) has said that its strategy for this year will focus on strengthening long-term relationships with customers in the face of an increasingly selective and competitive automotive market. President Director Shugo Watanabe said 2025 will be a period of dynamic changes for the national automotive industry. The market is becoming more challenging, while consumer expectations continue to grow. ‘2025 is a year full of dynamism for the automotive industry. The market is increasingly selective and consumer expectations continue to grow. In every situation, Honda chooses to look at the business more broadly. We are not only focused on selling new cars,’ Watanabe said in Jakarta on Tuesday (3 March 2026). Therefore, the company’s approach is not merely transactional, but about building relationships that endure throughout the vehicle ownership cycle. ‘For us, this is what we mean by Connecting Moment, namely building relationships that do not stop at purchasing the first car, but continue while the customer uses Honda,’ Watanabe said. Amid industry transformation and electrification trends, Honda also emphasised brand character consistency. Watanabe noted Honda’s identity remains anchored on the values of ‘timeless, reliable, and performance’ that have underpinned the company since its inception. ‘Honda is built on a spirit of engineering, the courage to innovate, and the belief in delivering real value to people’s lives. These values remain with us even as the industry changes very rapidly,’ he said. In line with this, HPM’s Sales & Marketing and After Sales Director Yusak Billy said that the national automotive market has indeed been gradually declining since 2022, affecting all players in the industry, including Honda. According to data from the Indonesia Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo), from January to December 2025 Honda recorded wholesale sales of 56,500 units. This achievement still places the Japanese brand in fifth position among four-wheeled or more brands sold in Indonesia, but its performance fell by 40 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, in terms of retail sales, Honda ranked third with 71,233 units. The figure was down 30 percent compared with 2024’s 103,023 units. This dynamic aligns with the overall decline in the national automotive market, which weakened by around 7 percent in the same period. ‘This year, our strategy is not only market penetration but also strengthening relationships with customers who already trust Honda. Maintaining customer loyalty is a priority,’ he concluded.