Honda Motor Co. will debut a remodeled Odyssey minivan on Friday in an effort to turn around its sluggish domestic sales.
The new Odyssey's floor platform is 10cm lower than that of the previous model.
The low body provides a more balanced ride at high speeds. It also allows the minivan to fit into standard multilevel parking garages.
Honda President Takeo Fukui said the Odyssey, which comes with a 2,400cc engine, will help attract more customers to its sleepy showrooms.
The company's domestic sales, excluding those of minivehicles, between January and September fell 21.3 percent from a year earlier to 356,107.
Honda became a pioneer in Japan's minivan market with the launch of the first Odyssey in 1994. But its minivan sales have been stagnant recently amid intensified competition and the company's aging models.
Honda hopes to sell 5,000 Odysseys monthly.
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