Annual Report 2004
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Honda's HISTORY

Honda's HISTORY

1946
• Soichiro Honda establishes Honda Technical Research Institute
1947
• Honda's first product, the A-type bicycle engine, produced
1948
• Honda Motor Co., Ltd., incorporated (capital: one million yen)
1949
• Dream D-type (two-stroke, 98cc), Honda's first motorcycle, produced
1952
• Head office moved to Tokyo
1957
• Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
1958
• Super Cub motorcycle released
1959
• American Honda Motor Co., Inc., established
• Honda racing team participates in the Isle of Man TT Race, taking sixth place in the 125cc class
1960
• Motorcycle production begins at Suzuka Factory
• Honda R&D Co., Ltd., established
1961
• Honda racing team sweeps first five places in Isle of Man TT Race (125cc, 250cc)
1962
• American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) issued at market price Adopted consolidated accounting using U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) standards
• Construction of Suzuka Circuit completed
1963
• Honda Benelux N.V. (Belgium) begins production of motorcycles
• Honda's first sports car (S500) and light truck (T360) released
1964
• Automobile production begins at Saitama Factory, Sayama
1965
• Thai Honda Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Bangkok) established
• Honda U.K. Ltd., established in London
• E300 portable generator introduced
• Honda wins its first F1 victory, in Mexico
1966
• S800 sales and export commenced
1967
• Motorcycle production begins in Thailand
• Automobile production begins at Suzuka Factory
1968
• Cumulative motorcycle production reaches 10 million units
1969
• Automobile and motorcycle production commenced in Malaysia
• Cumulative domestic power product production reaches one million units
1971
• Knockdown motorcycle production begins in Mexico
1972
• Details of CVCC low-emission engine system announced
• CVCC engine complies with the U.S. Muskie Act of 1975 Civic released
1973
• Motorcycle production begins in the Philippines
1974
• Motorcycle production begins in Indonesia
1975
• Automobile production begins in Indonesia
1976
• Kumamoto Factory inaugurated
• Motorcycle production begins at Honda Italia Industriale S.p.A.
• Accord CVCC (1,600cc) introduced
• Civic series cumulative production reaches one million units
1977
• ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
• Consolidated financial disclosure commenced
• Motorcycle production begins at Moto Honda da Amazonia Ltda., in Manaus, Brazil
1979
• Quarterly financial disclosure commenced
• Honda of America Mfg., Inc., begins motorcycle production
1980
• Cumulative Accord production reaches one million units
1981
• Listed on the London Stock Exchange
• Cumulative power products production reaches five million units
1982
• Honda of America Mfg., Inc., begins automobile production
1983
• Listed on the Zurich, Geneva and Basel stock exchanges
• Honda signs joint development agreement with Rover Group Ltd.
1984
• Automobile production commenced in Thailand
• Cumulative motorcycle production in Belgium reaches one million units
1985
• Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange
• Motorcycle engine production begins in the U.S.
• Motorcycle production commenced in India
• Motorcycle engine production commenced in Malaysia
• Cumulative power products production reaches 10 million units
1986
• Automobile production begins at Honda Canada Inc.
• Motorcycle production commenced in Spain
• Power products production commenced in France
1987
• Cumulative motorcycle production in Brazil reaches one million units
• Cumulative domestic motorcycle production reaches 50 million units, a world first
• Cumulative Civic production reaches five millions units
1988
• Motorcycle production begins in Mexico
• Automobile production begins at Honda New Zealand
• Cumulative automobile production reaches 15 million units
• High-performance VTEC engine announced
1989
• Second automobile plant in the U.S. begins production in East Liberty, Ohio
• Honda Motor Europe Ltd. (U.K.) established
• Cumulative power products production reaches 15 million units
1991
• Honda posts its 60th Grand Prix victory in the Brazil GP
1992
• Automobile production in the U.K. begins
• Cumulative Super Cub production reaches 20 million units, a world record
• Cumulative automobile production reaches 20 million units
• Cumulative power products production reaches 20 million units
1993
• Honda's power product engines meet California emission regulations, a world first
1994
• Automobile production commenced in the Philippines
• Automobile production commenced in Pakistan
• New automobile plant constructed in Thailand
1995
• Honda introduced first gasoline-powered vehicle to meet ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) standards
• Cumulative world production for the Civic reaches 10 million units
• Cumulative automobile production in North America reaches five million units
• Cumulative automobile production reaches 30 million units
• Automobile production begins in Mexico
1996
• Motorcycle production begins in Turkey
• Step Wagon released
• Human robot prototype announced
1997
• ISO 14001 certification achieved for Hamamatsu Factory and Tochigi Factory
• Automobile production begins in Brazil
• Automobile production begins in Turkey
• ISO 14001 certification achieved for Belgium auto parts plant
• Motorcycle production commenced in Vietnam
• Cumulative motorcycle production reaches 100 million units
• Construction of Twin Ring Motegi completed
1998
• 50th anniversary
• Cumulative automobile production reaches seven million units in North America
• Automobile production commenced in India
1999
• Automobile production commenced at Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., in China
• Fuel cell vehicle FCX-V1 and FCX-V2 announced
2000
• Cumulative Accord production in the U.S. reaches 5 million units
• FCX-V3 fuel cell vehicle announced
• ASIMO humanoid robot announced
2001
• Honda Headquarters achieves ISO 14001 environmental management certification
• Cumulative total of automobiles manufactured in North America reaches 10 million
• Production begins at new motorcycle production company in India
• New small car, the Fit, released
• FCX-V4 fuel cell vehicle announced
• Minimum investment unit lowered to 100 shares, from 1,000
• Second automobile plant in the U.K. commenced operations
• New automobile plant in the U.S., Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC, commenced operations
2002
• Common stock-to-ADR exchange ratio changed from two shares of common stock to one ADR, to one share of common stock to two ADRs
• Celebrated 25th anniversary of listing on the NYSE; ASIMO rang the opening bell for trading
• Government certification to the passenger car plant in China exclusively for export
• Honda FCX fuel cell vehicle delivered both in Japan and the U.S
2003
• Cumulative automobile production in the United Kingdom reaches one million units
• New automobile plant in Taiwan commenced operations
• New automobile plant in Malaysia commenced operations
• New automobile plant in Indonesia commenced operations
2004
• Honda FC Stack, a next-generation fuel cell stack capable of cold-starts and operation at temperatures as low as minus 20°C, developed
• Cumulative automobile production in the United States reaches ten million units
• Cumulative automobile production in Canada reaches three million units
• Production capacity at Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd., in China, expanded to 240 thousand units
• Production of CR-V commences at Dongfeng Honda Automobile (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., in China
• Second line at Alabama plant in the United States commences operations
• Cumulative automobile production at Ohio plant in the United States reaches ten million units

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