Honda to offer Koreans online car sales at a set price

Online car sales will be available this spring, said Lee.

Sony Honda Mobility's all-electric Afeela sedan displayed at the CES 2023 tech fair in Las Vegas [JOINT PRESS CORP]

Koreans will soon be able to buy Honda cars online for a set price, the Japanese carmaker said Wednesday.

“Customers will be able to buy all of our car models through online shopping,” said Honda Korea CEO Lee Ji-hong Wednesday.

“All processes of buying a car, from booking a test drive to paying balances, will be enabled online.”

Honda Korea held a press conference Wednesday in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, to describe its business plan for the new year.

Online car sales will be available this spring, said Lee.

Honda Korea CEO Lee Ji-hong speaks during a press event on Wednesday in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [HONDA KOREA]

Lee explained that Honda Korea poured 5.5 billion won ($4.4 million) over the past two years into an online shopping system, which includes a “curator” service in showrooms as well. Car curators will give customers more detailed information on cars and related services in showrooms, according to Honda.

“We reflected the growing consumer trend toward buying cars online,” said Lee.

Online car shopping rose in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Overseas carmakers such as Tesla and Polestar are selling cars through websites.

Hyundai Motor sells its Casper sports utility vehicle (SUV) exclusively online, but dealers don't like the trend.

Honda added that it will also adopt a “one price” system, in which dealers will be offering the same price to customers as the website. Previously, car prices changed depending on dealers.

Honda Korea plans to roll out five new cars in the local market this year, starting with the latest Honda CR-V SUV.

During the press event, Lee mentioned that Honda, which is focusing on hybrid models instead of electric cars, may introduce electric models in Korea in three to four years.

“It is true that it’s late,” admitted Lee, “but we believe the more important thing is to come up with cars that meet the Korean market’s demand.”

Honda hopes 40 percent of its sales in major markets will be electric models by 2030.

Honda and Sony's joint venture recently introduced an electric vehicle brand named Afeela at the CES 2023 held in Las Vegas from Jan. 5 to 8. The all-electric Afeela sedan will be available by 2026, according to the companies.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]