The Reason Why Honda’s Corporate Color Is Red.

Vivid red used in the Honda logo is actually a corporate color uniquely designated by Honda as the “Honda Red”. Why does Honda cherish the red color in the first place?

This article will unveil the answer to the question through an episode on the first red sports car sold in Japan and behind-the-scenes story of bright red power product development.

Once cars were not allowed in red or white in Japan. What were Honda’s tactics to revise the regulation?

Cars in red or white can be observed in numbers all over Japan. Did you know that it was once prohibited by law to sell cars with their bodies painted in red or white in Japan? In fact, it was Honda which led this regulation to revision in 1960s.

In the 1950s, still in the process of growth, Japan’s automobile industry was lagging behind other nations such as the United States. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI, currently Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) announced the “National Car Concept” under which auto makers competed with each other to introduce automobiles that met the conditions set out by the ministry: four-seater, maximum speed of 100 km/hour, and sales price of 150,000 yen. Honda as well, a motorcycle manufacturer back then, started gathering young engineers to undertake development to venture into the automobile market.

However, while the development was still in process, MITI set forth a basic policy which is abolition/consolidation of automobile manufacturers and restriction on entries of new makers. In short, Honda was cornered to the point where it would not have been able to make a foray into the automobile industry if the measures had passed.

Therefore, Honda had to speed up design and development of two types of four-wheeled sports cars and two types of mini trucks, in order to have an automobile production history before the passing of the measures.

This is how Japan’s first red car was born! Honda’s ruling passion toward red.

A styling designer at that time painted a prototype of the SPORTS 360 in reddish orange to make it stand out just little bit more. As Soichiro Honda liked it when he saw it, he gave it a go-ahead to adopt the red color on the next new model.

But back then in Japan, due to the fact that red vehicles could be confused with emergency vehicles such as fire engines and ambulances, using red on car bodies for the domestic market was restricted by law.

Soichiro Honda appealed through a newspaper column: Red is a basic color of design. How can they ban it by law? I have heard of no other top nations in the world in which the state monopolizes the use of colors. And Honda’s person in charge paid frequent visits to the Ministry of Transport (currently Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport) to finally obtain approval to use red.

The SPORTS 360 ended up not being sold, but another slightly larger sports car that had been simultaneously developed was brought out under the name of the S500. This was how Honda launched mass production of automobiles, taking advantage of its motorcycle production equipment.

“Honda Whirlwind” provoked by a bright red product

Although nowadays red products are associated with Honda, and bright red Hondas can be seen all over the world, Honda was not a leading company like now in the industry from the beginning.

In 1952 Honda launched the “Cub Type F”, which was an auxiliary motor that could be retrofitted to a bicycle. Its catch phrase was “White tank, red engine.” Owing to its small and light-weight design and the fresh styling, the product became popular, spreading an image that the "Honda’s engine is red.”

Even though no document remains now to confirm it, it is thought that that image had been reflected to the “F150”, Honda’s first tiller when it was introduced in the market painted bright red. The user-centric F150, filled with innovative ideas, achieved explosive sales in the market where numerous competitors’ similar products had already existed, earning it the title of “Honda Whirlwind.” Since then, red has become the key color for Honda tillers.

Engineering capabilities are not the only reason for Honda power products to storm the world. It is also this “red” color which has intuitively conveyed the spirit of innovation and reliability of Honda products created with passion, that plays a significant role for the wide spread of Honda products.

Meaning of carrying the Honda Red. Embodying reliability in the expressive red color

In 2001, Honda designated the red color as a corporate color, “Honda Red”. In addition to an exciting image associated with Honda products and its motor sports activities, the deep rich red color is adopted to convey the Honda brand’s quality feel and engineering capabilities. Honda is committed to continue embodying in its products sound reliability endorsed by high quality and engineering capabilities, expressed in this red, as well as philosophies handed down from Soichiro Honda.