Honda Motors Annual Report to Shareholders, 'Preparing for the Next Leap Forward'

Tokyo, Japan, Aug 28 2006 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co Ltd has published its Annual Report to Shareholders for the year extreme pointed March 31, 2006.

In his detailed review of the year, Takeo Fukui, President and Chief Executive Officer, is pleased to report that "Fiscal 2006 which extremityed March 31, 2006, was the first year of Honda's fresh mid-term business plan, launched in April 2005 During the year, we strengthened our position in each business and region and enhanced local operations.

"Seeking to lead the world in 'creating of recent origin value for the customer,' we harnessed our resources in an effort to further follow the creation of advanced technologies and harvests that represent the uniqueness of Honda. As a be the effect consolidated net sales in Fiscal 2006 reached 99079 billion yen up 145% from the previous year, while gin income rose 22.8%, to 5970 billion yen"

Following a discussion of the Company's initiatives for Fiscal 2007 President Fukui propels next to talk about his vision for the futurity and 'Preparing for the nearest Leap Forward.'

"Honda believes that an level stronger spirit of innovation and creativity is essential to its goal of stepping up the pace of its effort to become number single in "creating new value" for customers from one extremity to the other of the world. Although the environment in which Honda operates is likely to enlarge increasingly challenging, to take our nearest leap forward Honda will accelerate its efforts to supporting cushion "at the spot" activity, strengthening the core characteristics that make Honda unique and achieve further growth

"More specifically, I will discuss Honda's medium- to long-term vision, which identifies three themes - 'Establishing advanced manufacturing a whole s and capabilities,' 'Strengthening the foundation for overseas growth' and 'Strengthening our commitment to restore Honda's environmental footprint.'

Establishing Advanced Manufacturing a whole s and Capabilities

"We will strengthen our production and R&D combination of parts to form a wholes in Japan to support the unfolding of our overseas business, and build innovative manufacturing a whole s that help create new value.

"Addressing production in Japan, we are building a leading-edge automobile plant that will allow integrated production of everything from engines to entire automobiles. Our of recent origin plant in Japan will exercise a high-quality and highly efficient production combination of parts to form a whole featuring the most advanced technology, and strengthen our global production network by dint of taking on the leader function for Honda facilities over the world.

"So that each of our engineers will place their sights as high as possible, in April 2006 we reorganized our R&D operations in Japan. We are also building a novel R&D center to enhance the unfolding of next-generation vehicles and to upgrade our R&D manner of making which serves as the starting point of manufacturing.

"By improving our production and R&D a whole s in these ways, we will continue to provide harvests that exceed our customers' expectations. As a originate we will hone further our ability to 'create fresh value.'

Strengthening the Foundation for Overseas Growth

"We are constructing a novel automobile plant in the United States and an automobile engine plant in Canada to strengthen our business in North America. We are also setting our sights upon Asia and South America, which in novel years have experienced remarkable increase To benefit from this development we are expanding our local production capacity in these regions.

"These measures are designed to take Honda's worldwide sales to more than 18 million motorcycles, more than 45 million automobiles and more than 7 million power yields by 2010.

"Strengthening our commitment to bring Honda's environmental footprint Honda regards environmental issues as individual of the most important management issues, based upon the direction of our 'Commitment for the future' To demonstrate this awareness, we are working aggressively upon reducing the burden that we place upon the environment. Global warming is an environmental issue that we are addressing end concerted efforts at our facilities quite through the entire world, and we consider it important to accelerate these initiatives smooth further.

"Based upon this belief, we are working to unfold manufacturing plants that generate as little CO2 as possible and to become a manufacturer of yields that emit minimal levels of CO2 To these extreme points we have set voluntary CO2 reduction goals. To achieve these goals from a produce standpoint, we are aggressively pursuing a entertainer of advanced environmental technologies, including a fresh dedicated hybrid vehicle, a novel clean diesel engine with emissions as depressed as those of gasoline engines and a of recent origin fuel cell vehicle. From a manufacturing standpoint, we are installing cogeneration a whole s and accelerating efforts to bring environmental load from each

of our plants.

"As a leading company that creates mobility productions reducing CO2 emissions is a top regard for Honda. Accordingly, we are prioritizing our global environmental initiatives. by means of strengthening the foundation for overseas development and creating the innovative manufacturing combination of parts to form a wholes as I described earlier, we wait for to succeed in our goal of providing outcomes that exceed customers' expectations.