Honda Cub Had Slow Takeoff Then ….

Honda's at Belfied Street, Ban Hoe Seng's showroom then.

Once the main points of the dealership was settled and everything was moving Yeoh Oon Kok was tasked with the role of representative overseeing the set up.

Oon Kok was highly involved. He was a technician earlier, spoke Hokkien and got along well with the late Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew.

Although the company was the main dealer they sold motorcycles at the beginning until the dealer network was set up and running smoothly.

The 50cc Honda Cub was slow to start off. This was the first time people were trying this Japanese motorcycle and they were apprehensive of its quality.

Many features but sales was slow in the beginning.

Initially the orders were 10 units at a time. Sales was slow but it started to pick up after Oon Kok initiated several sales campaigns by getting 6 to 10 of his friends to try riding the Honda motorcycles and paraded it round the town as an advertisement.

He also accepted trade-in of European bikes and offered a high resale value in exchange for the Hondas.

Oon Kok. assembled the
bikes after office hours

It was at a loss but it helped improve the image of the Honda brand and in turn helped in spurring sales.

At the beginning Honda motorcycles were made in Japan and delivered completely knocked down (CKD), three per crate and ten crates each time.  After the shop closed at 5pm the technicians would work overtime to assemble the bike.  

This went on for over ten years until it was locally assembled at Prai, Penang and delivered by lorry 20 units each time.   

Sales had improved and in time the sales volume reached to over several 100 units per month.

By the time Ban Hoe Seng had shifted to their new showroom in Kampar Road in 1969 they had established dealerships from Grik in the north to Teluk Intan in the south and totaled thirty six dealers in the major towns of Perak.

Yeoh Oon Kok, the one who ‘introduced’ Honda to Ban Hoe Seng, later led a sales and marketing team and was subsequently made Official Car Sales Manager of Honda.

End

Next: Ban Hoe Seng sold Toyota before selling Honda