Youth and eco-friendliness. Those two words could summarize Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.’s
strategies for
Germany, the heart of the European auto industry and marketplace.
Honda plans to use the newly redesigned
Civic
to spearhead its campaign to attract younger buyers. Right now the Civic is popular among the older set: the average
Honda Civic driver is 53 years old.
Toyota, on the other hand, is heavily pushing its revamped Lexus GS hybrid to increase its
presence in the country. Representatives are in contact with government bodies and non-government agencies who promote
environmental protection issues. Toyota is offering them test drives and discounts on the GS.
Currently,
Honda has 1.3% and Toyota has a 4% marketshare in Germany, respectively.
[Source: TradingMarkets.com]