The History of Honda

Honda is a company founded in 1946 by Soichiro Honda, a Japanese engineer, inventor and racing driver born in 1906. The company as it is today and with its entire 50+ year history exists because of his daring, inventive and unconventional way of thinking and behavior.

Born into a poor family, Honda, without finishing school, joined a car repair shop in Tokyo as an apprentice at the age of 16. His early attachment to automobiles stemmed from his father's profession as a bicycle repairer and a blacksmith, who instilled in his son the skills to solve technical problems. In 1928, having saved enough money, he returned to his hometown in Hamamatsu province and opened his first repair shop there. That same year he received the first of his hundreds of subsequent patents for his idea to replace the wooden spokes in the wheel with metal ones. Honda's inventions later earned him fame as a man capable of finding simple solutions to complex problems. In 1938 he invented the piston ring, which was manufactured by the Tokai Seiki Heavy Industry company he founded in 1937.

In 1945, after his factory was severely damaged during the war and earthquake, Honda sells Tokai Seiki to Toyota for 450,000 yen. Having once attached an engine to his bicycle, creating a moped and then assembling a dozen more for his friends, Honda decides to enter seriously into the production of similar machines. In 1946, he founded a company called the Honda Technical Research Institute (In 1946, he founded a company called the Honda Technical Research Institute, and in 1947 production of the company's first product, a 50cc 2-stroke A-type engine, began. A year later, in 1948, the company was re-registered and renamed in accordance with the spirit of the time - Honda Motor Company, and began developing and manufacturing motorcycles. The company's first motorcycle, named Dream (dream) and equipped with a 98 cc engine, was produced in 1949. That's when Takeo Fujisawa, the man who is rightly considered the company's second founding father, came to work for the company. There was a division of responsibilities between him and Honda, with Honda in charge of production technology and Fujisawa in charge of corporate management and sales.

1953 - Two more plants were opened, a union was organized and a system of accepting workers' offers was introduced, and production of the Benly J-type began. The following year, 1954, Honda Motor stock begins to be traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Juno K-type scooter is sold and exported to the United States, and a technological breakthrough allows Honda to participate in motorsports - its team takes part in the Sao Paulo international motorcycle race in Brazil and the Isle of Man TT in Britain. Soichiro Honda goes on an exploratory visit to the Isle of Man and becomes acquainted with the European automobile industry. In 1955, the company became the leading motorcycle manufacturer in Japan, destroying a huge number of competitors; Honda took part in Japan's first Motorcycle Endurance Road Race and won in the 350cc and 500cc classes, winning the design prize as well. New models were released - Benly JB, Dream SA, Dream SB-type. In 1956, corporate principles were developed which the company still adheres to today. A service department was opened and a one-year warranty was introduced. In 1957, a research and development center was opened at the Shirako plant, and Honda Motor stock went to the top of the list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Honda team won first place in the Mt. Asama Race in the 350cc class. Honda's further victories in motorcycle racing are so numerous that there is no point in listing them. In 1958, the Super Cub model came out, and in 1959 Honda became the largest motorcycle manufacturing company in the world. In addition, in 1959, American Honda Motor was established in the United States. Do not forget to use Honda VIN decoder in order to avoid potential problems when buying a used car.