Buenos Aires, December 10, 1998 – Honda Motor Co., Ltd. issued the following news release in Argentina on December 9, 1998.
Honda announced that it will establish a local subsidiary in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Honda Automobile de Argentina SA will import and sell Honda automobiles and parts, and is scheduled to begin operations in January 1999.
Argentina’s automobile market continues to expand, with sales of approximately 430,000 units in 1997, making it the second largest market in South America after Brazil. Honda has been selling cars in Argentina since 1990 through its local import agent, Surauto SA.As part of our plan to strengthen our business in Mercosur*1 Honda has decided to establish a joint venture sales company in Argentina to strengthen its sales network in the region. The new company is a joint venture with Suraauto. A formal joint venture agreement was officially signed at a ceremony held on December 9th.
In Argentina, Honda currently sells the Accord and Civic imported from the United States, as well as the CR-V imported from Japan. With the establishment of the new company, Honda also plans to import and sell Civic models produced in Brazil starting in early 1999. Honda’s total sales volume in Argentina was approximately 2,400 cars in 1997, and the company’s sales target is 3,500 cars in 1998 and 5,000 cars in 1999.