Malaysians' response to 2023 Honda WR-V overwhelming, dealers working overtime to fulfill preview slots!
Sanjay · Jun 23, 2023 11:33 AM
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The chatter of a group of people is something Honda reveres. They call it waigaya, a neither Japanese nor English onomatopoeia coined by Soichiro Honda’s business partner, Takeo Fujisawa, that loosely translates to the hubbub of conversation. It’s very well documented too; executives will testify these flash meetings formed the backbone of their innovations and success.
Certainly lots of that was happening among customers last week, as the 2023 Honda WR-V kicked off its pre-launch nationwide preview at dealers in the Southern corner of Malaysia on a high note. That much was easy to see, following our own gemba of Ban Lee Heng (BLH) Motor Seremban as they were among the first five showrooms to display the car.
Photos courtesy of Autofun Indonesia. No photos are allowed during the preview.
The sneak peeks began on a working Friday, but it almost seemingly didn’t matter to curious hundreds. So much so that sales advisors have had to work overtime!
Part of the line during last week's event. Photo credits to Euroscale
"The preview event was supposed to start at 10 am and end at 6 pm. However, we've had to start at 9.30 am and extend it all the way to 7 pm for all three days! I believe this would be a strong indication of the interest in the WR-V," said Gerald Koh, sales manager of BLH Motor Seremban.
Readers would remember BLH as the one showroom which almost annually flexes their collection of Type Rs. The family business is just as fabled; rooted in a recovering, post-war Malaysia, they started selling bicycles in 1946 before moving on to motorcycles, and then cars in 1976.
Meanwhile, Koh says that key to the WR-V’s magnetism is in its versatility.
“Overall it has been very positive and it is well-accepted by a wide segment of buyers, and we’ve had first-time car buyers, to families who are looking for a third car. Generally, they love the bold styling, practicality, and safety features,” Koh said, citing customer comments.
See it for yourself
At the same time, orders for the WR-V have been open since last week, ahead of its launch in the third quarter of this year. Taking last year's HR-V as an example, it launched a week after the last of the previews ended, so we could see the same trend happening this year too.
Clearly, despite it entering a price-sensitive slice of the market (against the Perodua Ativa, which enjoys national car pricing benefits), there is still appreciation for the WR-V. Mind you, prices haven't been released yet, so clearly Honda has done something right with the model.
Also, if you'd like to see what the whole waigaya is about, dealer previews are still on – it takes place in Penang and Perak this week, before heading down to the Central and East Coast regions after that.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
