Honda won’t bring in its premium Acura brand offered overseas to target a growing number of premium-pitched Chinese arrivals such as BYD’s Denza and MG’s IM Motors in Australia.
Acura was established in 1986, three years before Toyota introduced Lexus and Nissan introduced Infiniti. It also preceded Mazda’s Eunos, Efini, and aborted Amati brands.
While Lexus remains on sale, Acura has never came to Australia. That’s despite Infiniti being offered between 2012 and 2020 and Eunos being launched as a standalone brand here in 1992 before being folded into Mazda in 1996.
Hyundai has since launched Genesis as a Lexus rival, but now Chinese car companies are getting in on the act with luxury brands of their own, including BYD’s Denza due in Australia by the end of 2025.
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Above: Acura Integra
MG has also just launched premium vehicles, officially under the ‘IM Presented by MG Motor’ banner but sold within MG showrooms.
The growth of premium brands hasn’t prompted new Honda Australia CEO Jay Joseph, who took the reins in April 2025, to add Acura to that list.
“[Bringing Acura] here would require substantial commitment of resources in developing a brand – you’ve got to have brand awareness before people shop,” Mr Joseph told CarExpert.
“Candidly, I think our priority should be on expanding the potential of Honda and making sure that we’ve done everything we can with the Honda brand before we would consider taking on an additional brand here in Australia.”
Above: First and second generations of Acura/Honda NSX
The Acura name was applied to some key Honda models in the past, including the second-generation NSX – which was also manufactured in the US – and models such as the Integra sports car and Legend.
All of these vehicles have been sold under the Honda name in Australia and other places, such as the United Kingdom (UK), but with Acura badges in North America.
Likewise, Acura’s MDX was sold here during its first generation as a Honda. Subsequent North American-built Acuras have been produced only in left-hand drive however, ruling them out for our market.
“Acura has been in other markets over time – of course the States – and Acura is pretty solid in Canada as well,” Mr Joseph added.
“We have had Acura in China for a time, but that didn’t work as we hoped it would – China is difficult because many of those products had to be imported from North America, and that’s a challenge.”
Acura launched its first electric vehicle (EV), the ZDX, in 2024. It shares a platform with General Motors vehicles such as the Cadillac Lyriq sold here.
Above (clockwise from left):ADX, RDX, MDX, ZDX
The lineup otherwise consists of a trio of petrol-powered crossover SUVs, as well as the Honda Civic-based Integra liftback. Acura recently swung the axe on its BMW 3 Series-rivalling TLX sedan.
Following Japanese and Korean automakers’ introductions of luxury brands, it’s now Chinese brands getting into this space.
BYD has Denza and Yangwang in China, while Geely has Zeekr in addition to foreign premium brands it has acquired like Volvo and GWM is planning an even more upscale brand to sit above its Wey marque.
Chinese brands surged in Australia over the first half of 2025, with BYD becoming the first to break into the top five best sellers in June, with Denza expected to add to its growth when it launches later this year.
Lexus, meanwhile, was 21st overall between January and June, trailing key rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz but ahead of Audi and Volvo.
Honda is on track for its best full-year result since 2021 (17,562) if it can match its 8068 sales to the end of June, which equates to 16,136.