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- The Birth of the E300, a New Generator for the World (Story)
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| The Birth of the E300, a New Generator for the World |
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Honda introduced its innovative E300 portable generator in January 1965, promoting it as a product that could be carried with one hand. "We were confident of its value as a portable, general-purpose generator," Hatakeyama recalled. "But when I was asked what the generator was for, I could only make some general remark that it was 'useful in a wide range of applications.' In other words, it wasn't necessarily a product that was developed with clearly defined target users in mind." Contrary to any doubts he might have had, though, demand for the E300 grew at an astounding rate. The key factor in that was the widespread use of generators for lighting the stalls at local festivals and fairs held across the country. "All the people involved in the product-those in production as well as in sales-rushed headlong into this new and challenging field," Hatakeyama said. "The E300 benefited from the unexpected results of their efforts." The E300 soon expanded its market overseas, showing its winning ways as a compact, easy-to-use generator for wide-ranging applications. Domestic sales also grew, thanks to the success of a unique TV commercial produced by the Sales Promotion Division. Ultimately, the E300 became the best-selling unit among all Honda power products, recording cumulative sales of 500,000 units. Moreover, that basic concept, which gave rise to the subsequent Denta series generators, is evident in contemporary Honda models. "In developing the E300," said Koyama, "I was able to apply everything I had learned through my previous experience. It was also a project in which I came to understand everything I needed to know, including how to approach product development, what we should look for in the design process and how to conduct tests effectively. Overall, the experience helped me in every motorcycle or automobile project I was later to become involved in. Today, the E300 is a familiar product around the world, being used by people in various ways. Knowing that, I cannot help but realize how lucky I was to be able to play a part in the development of such a great product." |
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