Founder Profile
Soichiro Honda
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Soichiro Honda?
Soichiro Honda is a founder of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1948 with Takeo Fujisawa.
- Company founded
- Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Founded
- 1948
- Co-founders
- Takeo Fujisawa
Background
Mechanic and self-taught engineer.
Founding Story
Soichiro Honda founded the company in 1946. Originally a mechanic who manufactured piston rings for Toyota, he realized that post-war Japan desperately needed cheap, reliable transportation. He famously began by attaching surplus military generator engines to bicycles, eventually designing entirely new, highly efficient motorcycle engines that would conquer the global market.
Soichiro Honda was born in 1906 in Shizuoka.
Honda was born on November 17, 1906 and died on August 5, 1991. He oversaw the company's growth from a wooden shack making bicycle motors into a multinational maker of cars and motorcycles.