1) Hongda technical research institute was established in 1946.
2) 1947, hongda introduced its first A-type, 2-stroke engine
3) The fall of 1949, Hongda introduced a lightweight 50cc, 2-stroke, D-type motorcycle.
4) 1951, Hongda introduced a superior 4-stroke design that doubled horsepower with no additional weight.
5) 1952-1953, ACQUIRED A PLAN AND DEVELOPED ENOUGH MANUFACTURING EXPERTISE TO BECOME A FULLY INTEGRATED PRODUCER OF ENGINES, FRAMES, CHAINS, SPROCKETS, AND OTHER ANCILLARY PARTS CRUCIAL TO MOTORCYCLE PERFORMANCE.
6) Beginning in the 1950s, hongda a). began to offer a multiproduct line, b). take leadership in product innovation and c. exploit opportunities for economies of mass production by gearing designs to production objectives.
- Developed new market segment : local deliveries
7) 1959, enter US market
8) Established a US subsidiary company : American Honda Motor Company – offering very small lightweight morotcycles: easier to handle , less than $250 retail, much much cheaper
9) Developed the market region by region, west to east,
10) 1961, lined up 125 dealers and spent 150,000 on regional advertising. Advertising represented a concerted effort to overcome the unsavory image of motorcyclists that had developed since the 19402, given special prominence by the 1953 movie The Wild Ones, which starred Marlon Brando as the surly, destructive leader of a motorcycle gang.
11) Phenomenally successful, sales rose from $500,000 in 1960 60 $77 millions in 1965. Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki together had 85% of U.S market; lightweight motorcycles had come to dominate the market.
12) Addressed its appeal primarily to middle-class consumers and claimed.
13) By the mid-1970s the Japanese producers had come to dominate a market shared by European and American producers 20 years earlier
14) Honda created the market for the recreational users of