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Honda delays the next NSX by two years
By Yoann Besnard on 23 July 2007 | 
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Honda CEO Takeo Fukui has announced that Honda will postpone the launch of the next NSX from 2008 to 2010. This is bad news not only for Honda fans but for all car fanatics.
The delay is due to the Acura brand that Honda wants to launch in Japan. Originally planned for 2008, Honda decided recently to postpone its introduction until 2010. One possible reason for their decision is fellow Japanese carmaker Toyota's lack of success with its Lexus brand on the Japanese market.
Launched in 2005, Toyota sold 60,000 Lexus cars in 2006. This was half of their sales target. The problem was - and still is - that the Lexus brand has little recognition in Japan, where Toyota is not considered as a luxury brand (carmaker?). In order to offer the best possible service, Toyota sent Lexus staff to a well-respected institute that teaches etiquette. There the staff learned skills such as how to adopt the same posture used by samurai 700 years ago and the best way to serve tea. Unfortunately, though some customers were impressed, others found it to be simply too much.
Launching a luxury brand in such a conservative market is a real challenge. The delay announced by Honda seems justified, even though Honda has a better luxury image than Toyota.
Autocar announced that the NSX would probably not be launched before the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show as Honda will want to launch the supercar in its home market first. In my opinon, the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show may be the show chosen to unveil the car. Honda may sell the car a few months later in 2010. The 2010 Detroit Motor Show could also be a good choice as the brand Acura enjoys a strong image on American soil. 2011 would be too late and, with today's shorter economic cycles, would increase the risk of the NSX arriving during a recession.