Photo: Honda China
Honda's whole European business is shaking apart. Investments are at a fraction of what German rivals are doing right now and only a few Honda models are still in decent demand. The once mighty Accord sedan is not among them and an official from the UK has confirmed its demise.
Speaking to Automotive News Europe, the head of Honda UK Leon Brannan said “We are running out the Accord and we will not return to the segment."
While we've known the Euro-spec Accord was to die since 2014, we never expected the company would stop offering a D-segment sedan altogether. In America, the a completely different model of the Accord is the best selling retail car overall and it would make sense to import it. But it seems not even that is going to happen.
Volkswagen is current the market leader with its Passat, which just received a major update. The 8th generation model is built on the MQB platform, comes with 10 engine choices and features Honda can only dream of, like full-LED headlights and a digital speedometer. Ford's Mondeo is the No.2, followed by other models with relatively low volumes like the Insignia or Peugeot 508.
Consumers are either buying German premium sedans like the C-Class or 3 Series or are altogether ignoring the sedan segment and going for the popular SUVs. While it's hard to let go of the Accord, the company has only sold 3,453 in Britain last year, which probably makes it rarer than hen's teeth.
We could name a whole bunch of things that are wrong with the Accord. For example, they didn't add the 1.6-liter diesel engine to the range, while even BMW has sub-2-liter mills on the 3 Series. The Japanese sedan also suffers from sub-standard legroom, a small trunk, outdated features and some say stiff suspension.
Competing with BMW or Mercedes would have been possible and we think Honda should at least reconsider killing a type of car Soichiro Honda loved so much.
Just to prove to you guys that it can be done, we're showing you the Spirior sedan from China, which is doing very well. It's sexy and, crucially, much cheaper and more technologically advanced than the European Accord.
While we've known the Euro-spec Accord was to die since 2014, we never expected the company would stop offering a D-segment sedan altogether. In America, the a completely different model of the Accord is the best selling retail car overall and it would make sense to import it. But it seems not even that is going to happen.
Volkswagen is current the market leader with its Passat, which just received a major update. The 8th generation model is built on the MQB platform, comes with 10 engine choices and features Honda can only dream of, like full-LED headlights and a digital speedometer. Ford's Mondeo is the No.2, followed by other models with relatively low volumes like the Insignia or Peugeot 508.
Consumers are either buying German premium sedans like the C-Class or 3 Series or are altogether ignoring the sedan segment and going for the popular SUVs. While it's hard to let go of the Accord, the company has only sold 3,453 in Britain last year, which probably makes it rarer than hen's teeth.
What's wrong with the Accord?
The current generation is over 7 years old and even when new it wasn't a cutting-edge model. The advantages of VTEC engines have dwindles while most rival brands have shifted either to diesels or downsized petrol engines.We could name a whole bunch of things that are wrong with the Accord. For example, they didn't add the 1.6-liter diesel engine to the range, while even BMW has sub-2-liter mills on the 3 Series. The Japanese sedan also suffers from sub-standard legroom, a small trunk, outdated features and some say stiff suspension.
Competing with BMW or Mercedes would have been possible and we think Honda should at least reconsider killing a type of car Soichiro Honda loved so much.
Just to prove to you guys that it can be done, we're showing you the Spirior sedan from China, which is doing very well. It's sexy and, crucially, much cheaper and more technologically advanced than the European Accord.
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