Source | YuanMeiHui

After its recent bid to acquire fellow Japanese automaker Nissan fell through, Honda is now facing another significant hurdle in China.

On February 10, Honda China officially announced that its January 2025 sales in China amounted to 68,890 units, a steep decline of about 31.8% from the 100,960 units sold in the same period in 2024. According to the January production and sales bulletin released by GAC Group on February 8, GAC Honda's sales for the month were 15,123 units, marking a year-on-year decrease of 57.14%.

It's worth noting that retail sales data compiled by Dongchedi, sourced from the China Automobile Dealers Association and the China Passenger Car Association, indicates that Honda sold 69,611 units in January 2025, with GAC Honda accounting for 37,919 units across 11 models. The significant discrepancy between these sales figures for GAC Honda can be attributed to differences in statistical methods, insiders told YuanMeiHui.

"The production and sales bulletin reflects wholesale sales to dealers, which differs from actual retail sales to consumers," explained an insider. "Under the traditional dealer model, automakers often rush to meet sales targets at the end of the year, resulting in dealers receiving more cars in December and fewer in January. This fluctuation is quite normal."

Despite GAC Honda's monthly sales not yet plummeting to the levels of mid-tier new-energy automakers, Honda's overall declining performance in China remains a cause for concern.

01

Classic Models Struggle to Sell

Once renowned for its engines, with the phrase "Buy the engine, get the car for free" resonating with Honda owners, the brand now faces a new reality where engines are no longer a unique selling point. Consequently, several of Honda's classic models are struggling with sales.

Data reveals that models such as the Honda Fit, Vezel, and XR-V, which were once part of the "10,000-unit monthly sales club," have seen their sales plummet in the past six months, with many months witnessing sales figures in the three-digit range. Currently, Honda China relies heavily on models like the Accord, CR-V, Civic, and a few "twin" models like the Breeze to sustain sales. These three model lines have been the cornerstone of Honda's development since its inception.

Even these sales pillars have lost their former luster. For instance, the Accord, which was Honda's best-selling model in January 2025, averaged less than 13,000 units per month over the past 12 months, a significant drop from the frequent monthly sales exceeding 20,000 units during 2022-2023. These sales figures are also the result of significant discounts offered by dealers to boost volumes.

"The Accord is now available for as low as around 150,000 yuan," a salesperson at a GAC Honda 4S dealership in Guangzhou told YuanMeiHui on February 12. With a starting price of 179,800 yuan, the Accord offers a comprehensive discount of about 30,000 yuan. On the same day, another prospective Accord buyer informed YuanMeiHui that the price in Guangzhou was relatively high, "while in other places, some bare models can be found for 120,000 to 130,000 yuan."

Given that the Toyota Camry and Buick LaCrosse are also selling for around 150,000 yuan, and BYD models priced at 100,000 yuan already offer features like automatic parking and high-speed piloting, it's not surprising that Honda, exemplified by the Accord, has seen significant price cuts and declining sales.

More concerning than sluggish sales is the decreasing attention being paid to the Honda brand.

By comparing mainstream joint venture brands like Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, and Buick using the WeChat Index mini-program, it's evident that Honda's 30-day average index is less than 60M, roughly half that of Toyota and ranking behind Volkswagen and even Hyundai, but significantly ahead of Buick and Nissan.

Image Source: WeChat Index

The WeChat Index is a metric within the WeChat ecosystem that helps users quickly gauge the popularity of keywords, derived from the popularity of various content strongly related to those keywords, including videos, articles, and live streams. In recent years, many brands have regarded the WeChat Index as a crucial reference for marketing success.

In another measure of brand attention, Weibo's monthly brand business ranking, GAC Honda failed to make it into the top 30 automotive rankings for 10 months in 2024. Its counterpart, Dongfeng Honda (hereinafter referred to as "DFH"), didn't appear on the list at all for the entire year, performing worse than Nissan (including Dongfeng Nissan and imported Nissan), which also lagged behind in the WeChat Index.

02

New Heavyweight Cars Face an Uphill Battle

In today's market, where visibility equals sales, it's better for an automotive brand to be criticized and scrutinized than forgotten. For Honda to avoid obscurity and boost its popularity, new car launches are crucial.

Honda plans to introduce new models to the Chinese market in 2025, including the Ye P7 and Ye S7 electric vehicles under its new pure electric brand "Ye," along with mid-cycle refreshes of sales pillars like the Accord and Civic. Among these, the two pure electric vehicles are strategically significant for Honda.

Launched in the Chinese market in 2024, the Ye sub-brand's new cars will be based on the exclusive pure electric vehicle architecture W, marking a departure from "oil-to-electric" conversions.

However, Honda Ye, eager to make a splash, made a fundamental mistake—its logo design was met with widespread disapproval.

As the Ye brand logo incorporates the characters "fire" and "change" from the Chinese character "Ye," many netizens left a negative impression, followed by ridicule and mockery across the internet. In response, Honda conducted an online survey to gauge market opinion on the logo design.

Screenshot from: Honda "Ye" brand promotional video

Clearly, Honda cannot afford to take risks with these two heavyweight new cars.

With the impending launch of the Ye P7 and Ye S7, the brand has begun adjusting its communication strategy. During the Chinese New Year period, both GAC Honda and DFH released new year-themed posters featuring the two new cars. GAC Honda omitted "Ye" entirely, focusing solely on "P7," while DFH retained "Ye" in the corner of the poster, with the copy and central position highlighting "S7."

If these two pure electric vehicles can make a successful debut, it will mark the first step for Honda to regain its peak position in China. However, in 2025, Honda needs to prioritize stabilizing its fundamentals and halting its decline. In this context, the updates of mainstay models like the Accord and Civic are even more critical.

Taking the Accord as another example, when it underwent a complete refresh in 2023, it boldly eliminated the HEV hybrid model, opting to compete with pure gasoline and PHEV plug-in hybrid models. However, sales of the PHEV plug-in hybrid version of the Accord have remained sluggish. Hence, rumors suggest that the HEV hybrid version of the Accord might make a comeback during this year's facelift.

"We can only discuss it at the press conference," GAC Honda responded to YuanMeiHui regarding the potential return of the Accord's HEV hybrid version.

Can the legendary Honda recreate its past sales success?

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