October 2017: American Honda Motor Co.

[William Maley]

Cars Take Lead Role in American Honda October Sales Gains

Nov 1, 2017 - TORRANCE, Calif.

• Civic leads strong month for Honda car sales, setting new October record with 15 percent gain
• All-new 2018 Accord helps America's best-selling midsize car to strong month
• Honda Pilot gains 18.5 percent, supported by increased production volume
• Acura MDX has strong month with sales of 5,287 based on increased production

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported October sales of 127,353 Honda and Acura vehicles, an increase of 0.9 percent vs. October 2016. With strong sales of passenger cars, Honda Division reported an increase of 1.2 percent on sales of 114,655. Acura Division sales were down slightly at 1.3 percent on sales of 12,698 vehicles.

Honda

Honda delivered another strong month with passenger car sales playing the lead role.  Civic outpaced the market again with another double-digit gain while Accord, strengthened by the debut of the all-new 2018 model, gained 4.7 percent in October. Increased production of Pilot also paid dividends as sales climbed 18.5 percent for the month. Elsewhere in the truck lineup, tight supplies of key model trims checked sales growth.

• Honda car sales gained 6.3 percent in October, with 60,283 units sold.
• Civic sales climbed 15 percent on sales of 30,319 for the month, a new October record.
• Accord posted 26,740 sales, up 4.7 percent with the debut of the all-new 2018 model, with 2.0T and Hybrid variants yet to launch.
• Pilot sales gained notably in October for the second straight month, with sales up 18.5 percent on sales of 10,285.

"With key competitors resorting to aggressive discounting and heavy incentives even on new models, Honda is riding the growing momentum of a robust product lineup boosted by the all-new Accord," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda. "As the rollout of the new 2018 Accord continues, we're focused on a strong finish to 2017 and a fourth consecutive year of record sales."

Acura

Acura sales were led by MDX, which gained again as it benefitted from higher production volume with the complete shift of production to the East Liberty Plant in Ohio.  And while sedan and RDX sales were challenged by the aggressive incentives by competitors, the NSX had its best sales month since going on sale in 2016 with a 30 percent gain in October.

• MDX sales were up 4.7 percent in October, with 5,287 units sold.
• RLX sales are climbing, helped more significantly by the RLX Sport Hybrid as it continues to gain recognition. RLX gained 6.5 percent on sales of 99 units.
• ILX sales were up 2.6 percent on sales of 1,025 vehicles.

"We're pleased to see the higher inventory from the move of Acura MDX production quickly result in stronger sales," said Jon Ikeda, vice president & general manager of the Acura division. "With the redesigned RLX ready to hit the market in the coming days sporting a strong expression of the new Acura design direction, we'll look to close 2017 with stronger sedan sales."

	American Honda Vehicle Sales for October 2017
								Month-to-Date						Year-to-Date
								October 2017		October 2016	DSR** % Change		MoM % Change	October 2017		October 2016	DSR** % Change	YoY % Change
	American Honda Total							127,353		126,161	5.0%		0.9%	1,358,956		1,354,541	0.3%	0.3%
	Total Car Sales							64,162		60,592	10.1%		5.9%	677,343		689,603	-1.8%	-1.8%
	Total Truck Sales							63,191		65,569	0.2%		-3.6%	681,613		664,938	2.5%	2.5%
	Honda						Total Car Sales	60,283		56,719	10.5%		6.3%	636,700		644,303	-1.2%	-1.2%
	Honda						Total Truck Sales	54,372		56,573	0.0%		-3.9%	595,432		577,642	3.1%	3.1%
	Acura						Total Car Sales	3,879		3,873	4.2%		0.2%	40,643		45,300	-10.3%	-10.3%
	Acura						Total Truck Sales	8,819		8,996	2.0%		-2.0%	86,181		87,296	-1.3%	-1.3%
	Total Domestic Car Sales							58,334		52,819	14.9%		10.4%	572,628		635,868	-9.9%	-9.9%
					Honda Division			54,554		49,039	15.7%		11.2%	532,907		591,718	-9.9%	-9.9%
					Acura Division			3,780		3,780	4.0%		0.0%	39,721		44,150	-10.0%	-10.0%
	Total Domestic Truck Sales							63,191		65,569	0.2%		-3.6%	681,613		664,938	2.5%	2.5%
					Honda Division			54,372		56,573	-0.0%		-3.9%	595,432		577,642	3.1%	3.1%
					Acura Division			8,819		8,996	2.0%		-2.0%	86,181		87,296	-1.3%	-1.3%
	Total Import Car Sales							5,828		7,773	-22.0%		-25.0%	104,715		53,735	94.9%	94.9%
					Honda Division			5,729		7,680	-22.4%		-25.4%	103,793		52,585	97.4%	97.4%
					Acura Division			99		93	10.7%		6.5%	922		1,150	-19.8%	-19.8%
	Total Import Truck Sales							0		0	0.0%		0.0%	0		0	0.0%	0.0%
					Honda Division			0		0	0.0%		0.0%	0		0	0.0%	0.0%
					Acura Division			0		0	0.0%		0.0%	0		0	0.0%	0.0%
MODEL BREAKOUT BY DIVISION
	Honda Division Total							114,655		113,292	5.3%		1.2%	1,232,132		1,221,945	0.8%	0.8%
			* ACCORD					26,740		25,551	8.8%		4.7%	277,542		284,170	-2.3%	-2.3%
			* CIVIC					30,319		26,359	19.6%		15.0%	314,699		310,142	1.5%	1.5%
			CLARITY					34		0	0.0%		0.0%	566		0	0.0%	0.0%
			CR-Z					18		168	-88.9%		-89.3%	669		2,032	-67.1%	-67.1%
			* FIT					3,172		4,641	-28.9%		-31.7%	43,221		47,896	-9.8%	-9.8%
			INSIGHT					0		0	0.0%		0.0%	3		63	-95.2%	-95.2%
			CROSSTOUR					0		1	-100.0%		-100.0%	5		726	-99.3%	-99.3%
			* CR-V					27,773		30,306	-4.7%		-8.4%	308,706		293,799	5.1%	5.1%
			HR-V					6,304		6,596	-0.6%		-4.4%	80,338		64,866	23.9%	23.9%
			ODYSSEY					7,301		7,622	-0.4%		-4.2%	82,610		102,457	-19.4%	-19.4%
			PILOT					10,285		8,677	23.3%		18.5%	94,488		99,676	-5.2%	-5.2%
			RIDGELINE					2,709		3,371	-16.4%		-19.6%	29,285		16,118	81.7%	81.7%
				***		Memo: Accord FHEV		1,832		1,296	47.0%		41.4%	19,262		4,176	361.3%	361.3%
						Memo: Civic Hybrid		2		14	-85.1%		-85.7%	62		869	-92.9%	-92.9%
	Acura Division Total							12,698		12,869	2.6%		-1.3%	126,824		132,596	-4.4%	-4.4%
			ILX					1,025		999	6.7%		2.6%	10,098		12,746	-20.8%	-20.8%
			NSX					87		67	35.0%		29.9%	442		150	194.7%	194.7%
			RLX / RL					99		93	10.7%		6.5%	922		1,146	-19.5%	-19.5%
			TLX					2,668		2,714	2.2%		-1.7%	29,181		31,254	-6.6%	-6.6%
			TSX					0		0	0.0%		0.0%	0		4	-100.0%	-100.0%
			MDX					5,287		5,052	8.8%		4.7%	43,469		44,630	-2.6%	-2.6%
			RDX					3,532		3,944	-6.9%		-10.4%	42,712		42,666	0.1%	0.1%
				***		Memo: ILX Hybrid		0		0	0.0%		0.0%	0		1	-100.0%	-100.0%
						Memo: RLX Hybrid		26		13	108.0%		100.0%	187		171	9.4%	9.4%
						Memo: TSX Wagon		0		0	0.0%		0.0%	0		0	0.0%	0.0%
						Memo: MDX Hybrid		203		0	0.0%		0.0%	1,278		0	0.0%	0.0%
	Selling Days							25		26				255		255
	**** Hybrid							2,168		1,558	44.7%		39.2%	21,903		7,462	193.5%	193.5%
	*    Honda and Acura vehicles are made of domestic & global sourced parts
	**   Daily Selling Rate
	***  Memo line items are included in the respective model total
	**** Hybrid includes FHEV, PHEV, CR-Z, Civic Hybrid, Insight, ILX Hybrid, RLX Hybrid, RLX Sport Hybrid, MDX Sport Hybrid and NSX

[A Horse With No Name]

Fuel prices going up and a general lack of good paying jobs for College graduates is probably fueling the rise of the Civic.