Honda 2014 Annual Report Download - page 12

Power Product and Other Businesses
Developing new general-purpose engines for
the low-price engine market in emerging
countries
Honda’s power product business, built around general-
purpose engines, offers a wide variety of products that range
from portable power generators, tillers and lawn mowers to
snow throwers, water pumps and outboard engines used for
work and in daily life. In order to deliver a wide variety of
power products to our customers all around the world, Honda
has established a structure that allows us to produce and
deliver our products globally while pursuing the optimization of
our production efficiency and costs. Under this structure, we
are currently producing general-purpose engines mainly in
Thailand and China, lawn mowers in the U.S. and France as
well as generators in India and China. Striving to sustain future
growth, Honda will continue pursuing highly competitive prod-
uct development and manufacturing.
One example of such an initiative is the new GP Series of
general-purpose engines that was developed and launched for
sale in emerging markets in the second half of 2013. While
cultivating a strong reputation for performance and reliability,
we aim to further expand sales in the light-use engine market
which accounts for the majority of general-propose engine
sales in emerging countries and is the segment where low-
priced products are rapidly gaining market share in Asia and
other regions. By introducing more GP engine-equipped
power products such as generators, tillers and water pumps
to this market, we will expand our global product line-up and
will have more opportunities to share the passion behind our
power products business—the joy of helping people get
things done.
Developing new technologies and proposing
new values unique to Honda
Under the founding philosophy of “technology for the people,”
Honda undertakes new challenges in creating new products
and further advancing its technologies.
In the energy field, we have developed a proprietary home
energy management system (HEMS) which manages and
optimizes the generation and consumption of energy in a
home. Striving to realize a low-carbon society, Honda began
demonstration testing of its HEMS in Japan and the U.S.
In the robotics field, we are actively applying technologies
amassed in our research and development of the ASIMO
humanoid robot to mass-production products and working
toward commercialization of such product applications. One
example of such a product is the Walking Assist Device, which
is being developed as a device that assists people with reduced
walking ability due to injury, illness or other causes and those
whose leg strength is declining due to aging or some other
reason. In addition to a number of initiatives and programs in
Japan, in November 2013, we began a joint clinical research
study with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), which is
one of the world’s leading hospitals specializing in the area of
physical therapy and rehabilitation. Through this joint study, we
will test the compatibility and efficacy of the devices in improv-
ing the walking ability of patients recovering from cerebral
strokes, with the aim of making further progress in the develop-
ment of this device toward future commercialization.
In another area of robotics, in June 2013, Honda and the
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technol-
ogy (AIST) jointly developed a High-Access Survey Robot, a
remotely controlled survey robot that will conduct on-site sur-
veys in high and narrow spaces at Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear
Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company. While making
progress in the development of ASIMO, a humanoid robot
designed to be helpful to people while coexisting in a human
environment, Honda will accelerate the development of human-
oid robots designed for use in response to disasters, including
the prevention and mitigation of damage caused by a disaster.
Though Honda offers a number of products that can help
people get things done, there are still many regions in the
world where people are not benefitting from such Honda
products. In that sense, no market where we conduct busi-
ness is ever too mature, and Honda will be able to continue
helping many customers in the future. Honda’s philosophy is
all about making useful products, and we will continue our
efforts to create and deliver valued products and services to
every corner of the world.
Maintaining a global viewpoint, Honda will strive to realize “the
joy and freedom of mobility” and “a sustainable society where
people can enjoy life” in keeping with our desire to be a company
society wants to exist.
Walking Assist Device
GP Engine
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Annual Report 2014 11
3 To Our Shareholders
1 The Power of Dreams
2 Financial Highlights
4 Review of Operations
5 Corporate Governance
6 Financial Section
7
Investor Relations
Information
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