- Honda has two plants in Europe, one in England (Swindon), which produces the Civic, the CRV and the Jazz, and one in Turkey (Gebze) that produces the Civic. The two plants have a production capacity of 310 000 units (250 000 for Swindon and 60 000 for Gebze).

- Honda sales in Europe fell gradually from 335 000 in 2007 to 140 000 in 2013 with the production falling from 261 000 in 2007 to 154 000 in 2013. These Honda plants only supply the European market and have therefore become oversized.

- This is why the group isn't anticipating a significant improvement in the sales volume in Europe by 2016, the Japanese manufacturer has decided to reduce by one third its production capacity at its Swindon plant. It will therefore be reduced from 250 000 units to 170 000 units this year. The plant in Gebze will retain its capacity of 60 000 units per year, while it produces only 15 000 a year Civic aren't in the top 10 anymore.

- The obvious fall in sales of Honda in Europe of over 50% in a few years clearly shows that the Honda range is no more in tune with the customer demand. To boost sales, it probably lacks a mini-SUV in its range, a competitor for the Nissan Juke as this segment is booming in Europe. Honda introduced the new Vezel last year, but its manufacturing is still pending.

  

- The French car market grew by 3.1% in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the first quarter of 2013, while over the same period it fell by 14.6% in 2013 compared to 2012 and 21. 7% compared to 2011.

- The French market has dropped continuously for four years, from 2 218 421 units in 2010 to 1 790 473 in 2013. But the market recovery in 2014 is a scenario that could become reality.

- Inovev planned in August 2013 a volume of 1 882 000 PC sales in France in 2014, representing an increase of 5.1%. The French market is set to follow this path after the good results of the first quarter of 2014.

- Despite a gradual recovery of the French market, we however note that these figures are still far from those of 2009, 2010 and 2011, where it exceeded 2.2 million units per year. But it is gradually approaching a market of 2 million units that was observed between 2002 and 2008 for example.

- For the following years Inovev expects a volume of 1 924 000 PCs in 2015 and 1 958 000 in 2016. This scenario is mainly based on:

     - Growth scenarios of the French economy by 0.9% in 2014 and 1.5% in 2015.

     - Household consumption growth and a slight increase in business investment.