Honda’s review of the number and intensity of operational standards imposed on dealers is continuing, despite plans to announce a conclusion to the dealer council by the end of the summer.

Ewan Ramsay, head of cars at Honda (UK), told AM that it has been making “good progress”.

“Because of the range of issues we’re covering, including the administration, we’re still in discussions.

At the moment we’re looking at standards that will add identifiable value to the business,” he adds.

Over the next three years, Honda will be asking some dealers to invest in CI, including signage, tiling, colour and the showroom itself if more room is needed to display new cars.

“We’ll do a business plan of the investment levels in order to ensure the figures are accessible,” says Ramsay. “We will support dealers financially to help them meet our CI requirements.” So far 80% of the 200-outlet dealer network has met the required standard.

“The investment is needed to ensure that a customer’s experience with the Honda brand is aligned,” says Ramsay. “We’re also looking to grow our volume sales through our existing outlets and if any dealer wants to expand their business and it looks commercially viable, then we will support them. Currently we have 30 loss-making dealers, 18 of which are new to the brand.”

This equates to Honda’s target of a dealer network that is 85% profitable this year but Ramsay admits that it’s still not where “the manufacturer wants to be”.