Head of motorcycles at Honda is arguably the biggest job in British motorcycling.
Alan Dowds spoke to Neil Fletcher about how he got there and what he is doing now.
There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since 2017. Brexit and its fallout, political stasis, Covid-19 … then war in Europe, an energy crisis, inflation and interest rate rises. Perhaps not the ideal period to take on a massive new role – but that’s exactly what Neil Fletcher has been doing after replacing Nick Campolucci as head of motorcycles at Honda UK in July 2017.
His road there wasn’t straightforward, though, as he explained to me at his local petrolhead haunt, the RAC Club in Epsom. “My old man was from the railway industry and was always into engineering. I was a big disappointment, though, since I went to university! He wouldn’t let me have a motorbike when I was younger because he had a big bike accident – nothing too serious – but he was quite against me having one.”
Fletcher got his degree in geography from Plymouth University – but his heart was already in the automotive trade. “I had a Saturday job on the pumps and cleaning cars at a local dealership owned by Peter Simpson. I thought I could make a career out of it, so after graduating, I applied to every brand.” Fletcher finally got a foot in the door at Ford, before moving to Honda as an automotive area sales manager based in Sussex and Surrey. Roles in marketing, as national sales manager for power products, and a European training job followed before he left Honda for a job at the London Olympics in 2012. When he returned to the big H five years later, it was to the motorcycle division. “I’d always fancied the bike business, although I wasn’t a biker. I was always interested and enjoyed watching the racing.”
That non-biker status couldn’t last, of course. “When I got the job, I went to learn how to ride a bike, just like someone from off the street. And it was a bit of an eye-opener: it’s not easy! Which, if I’m honest, was news to me. There are a lot of barriers in the way, and it’s quite expensive. It stood me in good stead for the job, and even though I wasn’t a bike person, I was a Honda person. I was also lucky because I had Andy Mineyko and some other people who are very experienced and respected, so I had the luxury of listening and learning.”
What are the main parts of the job for him today, then? Dealer relations are right at the top of his list. “I’m very committed to our dealer council, because if you have the opportunity to speak to your customers, and they’re a passionate, driven bunch, why wouldn’t you do it? So, we do it every quarter, religiously. We established that very early on, which was a bit selfish from my point of view because I was learning a lot, but it also helped them understand my thoughts and ideas.”
Aside from that front-line task, Fletcher’s background in sales means he’s been a champion for the Honda Sales Training Academy, launched a couple of years ago. “We’re doing a lot of work on sales training, and I get involved in that. I think it’s important that it’s seen we are committed to it and, again, I go back to my background. People gave me a chance and invested in me, and we’re doing the same now.”
Bringing things back to the here and now, I ask how 2023 went for Honda, and how 2024 is looking? “Last year was good for us. It was frustrating that we didn’t have more PCX scooters because we would’ve sold at least 1000 more if we had had the expected numbers. We just couldn’t keep up with demand. But we grew our bigger bike sales, and that’s good for us commercially. We had the Hornet and Transalp 750s, which made a massive difference in a part of the market where we weren’t so strong.
“And I think 2024 is going to be all right. We’ve just had the January figures, and they were really good. If I’m honest, I thought it was going to be a little bit tougher until March time with the new plate. Last year, we had just under 21% market share, and our market share this January was about 24%, which is brilliant, and we want it to stay there.
“Tony [Campbell, CEO of the MCIA] is predicting a 2.5% increase in the market, and I think that’s fair. I hadn’t seen as many new bikes coming out, for example, and I wasn’t sure where interest rates would go, but it has certainly started well.
“So yes, this year looks good. The one thing I always look at is consumer confidence. It’s not a bad barometer in this job, and it’s way better than it was this time last year.”
Has Honda been affected by the current trouble in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels are attacking container ships? “It’s created a slightly longer lead time for us in the short term. All of our ships are going around Africa now, which adds ten days to the journey. I would say we’re probably seeing a two-week extension to lead times, which is not too bad.”
Fletcher is also very positive about the whole bike market in the long term. “I’m an optimist! I feel we could be on the cusp of a bit of a biking resurgence. There seems to be quite a groundswell to review the licensing laws. I think the government is listening, and I also think they’re listening to us on the petrol engine phase-out.”
We finished our conversation about the state of play at Honda with a nice piece of philosophy from Fletcher. “I feel like I’m the guardian of a brand. There have been people in this job before me, like Bob McMillan and Mark Davis, and there will be people after me. But I just think, ‘How can I leave it in a better place than it was when I took it on?’”
NEXT MONTH
Lap Two of The Man from Honda. We find out about his dealer network strategy