Japanese premium brand Acura will leave the Chinese market after six years of unsuccessful attempts to succeed. The Honda Motor-owned brand will completely cease production and sales from 2023. The reason is falling demand.
Acura came to China relatively recently - in 2016. To do this, Honda and GAC formed a joint venture, GAC Acura. The company even developed models like the long-wheelbase TLX-L sedan and the adapted RDX crossover specifically for the Chinese market. In 2019, sales peaked at 14,701 vehicles. After that, the demand for Acura began to fall. At the end of 2021, only 6554 cars were sold in China.
CarNewsChina writes that Acuras could not compete with popular German models. So, the CDX compact crossover failed to attract the attention of the Chinese public against the background of the BMW X1 and Audi Q3, and its older brother RDX failed the rivalry with the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC.
Freed up as a result of the closure of the Acura brand in the Chinese market, Honda will direct the resources to the development of electric vehicles. Earlier in 2022, sales of the Honda e:NS1 compact electric crossover based on the Honda Vezel/HR-V began in China. Over the next four years, the company intends to launch one new electric train in China every year.
After the closure of GAC Acura, the GAC Honda JV will serve the previously purchased Acura.
Honda will reduce the geography of sales of Acura cars
