Read the case given below and answer the questions given at the end.

CASE STUDY – 2

Failure of Accord hybrid

The cancellation of the Honda Accord hybrid by the Japanese automaker should be recorded as one of the most spectacular marketing failures of the last five years. Honda announced that the new Accord will not have a hybrid version. But why? The Toyota Prius sold 77,000 in the US in just the first five months of the year. Honda, meantime, sold 1,700 Accord hybrids and 13,900 Civic hybrids. Ford also sold just 9,252 Escape hybrids. The Accord hybrid features the company's third-generation electric assist drive-train, matched with a modified version of the V6 that has cylinder deactivation technology. With 253 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque, it is the most powerful Accord in the lineup. The hybrid system captures electrical energy during braking or deceleration and stores it in the vehicle's special battery pack. Also, the system features the ability to shut off the engine during vehicle stops for further efficiency gains. The car's fuel economy is rated at 28 mpg city/35 mpg highway, which is similar to the fuel economy of the standard four-cylinder Accord. A couple of things. The engineers at Honda got carried away with rational thinking. They talked themselves into the idea that a load of people would be impressed with getting four cylinder fuel economy with six cylinder power. Not so much. The typical Accord buyer is not that interested in horsepower. And to pay $9,000 more for the hybrid than the four-cylinder made sense tovery few customers. Honda thought that the car would sell itself since it gets so much sales and showroom traffic for Accord anyway. The Accord has been the second best selling passenger car in the US for some time. Honda did no discernible marketing or public relations promotion for the Accord hybrid. It's not easy  istinguishing any of the hybrids in the market today from the Toyota Prius. Honda needs to review all of its marketing.

Questions:
1. Was the decision on keeping standard advertising decisions across the globe justified? How could they have done better in
increasing and promoting awareness?
2. What do you think are the reasons for the failure of the company to achieve its targets, specially considering the competitor's
success?
3. What were the shortcomings in the market research conducted by Honda while launching a hybrid product in the US markets?