January 2018: American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

[William Maley]

American Honda Reports January Sales Results

Feb 1, 2018 - TORRANCE, Calif.

• Honda Pilot notches 5th straight monthly gain with 62% jump in January
• Honda HR-V hits new January record as sales climb 10% for the month
• Honda Civic rises 2.8% on heels of all-time annual record
• TLX and RLX lead Acura cars to 9.3 percent gain in January, bucking industry trend

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) today reported January sales of 104,542 Honda and Acura vehicles, a decrease of 1.7 percent versus January 2017. Honda Division sales were down 1.6 percent on sales of 95,634, with Honda cars narrowly down 1.3 percent on sales of 45,224, and inventory constraints leading trucks to slip 1.8 percent on sales of 50,410 units. Total Acura Division sales declined slightly in January, recording a 3.2 percent drop on sales of 8,908 units. However, passenger car sales gained 9.3 percent on sales of 2,979 vehicles.

Honda
Following a record year for Honda trucks, Pilot continued to show its true market strength as improved supplies helped it to a 61.8 percent increase, with HR-V recording a double-digit gain. Civic enjoyed a notable gain for the month, while overall car sales lagged a bit behind January 2017.

• Pilot sales jumped 61.8 percent on sales of 11,619 in January, its 5th straight monthly increase.
• HR-V set a new January record, gaining a robust 10 percent on sales of 6,259 for the month, continuing as one of the segment's hottest selling vehicles.
• Civic sales were up 2.8 percent in January, while all-new Accord begins to gain momentum with the just-launched national marketing campaign.

"With a strong and fresh product line-up, we're confident in the fundamental competitiveness of our products in their segments," said Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of the Automobile Division & general manager of Honda Sales.

Acura
After a strong December — its best month of 2017 — Acura Division sales were relatively flat in January.  However, Acura cars bucked the downward trend for luxury sedan sales with a gain of 9.3% for the month. 

• Led by TLX and bolstered by the recently refreshed RLX, Acura car sales were up 9.3 percent on sales of 2,979.
• With the TLX A-Spec increasing showroom traffic, sales gained 13.2 percent in January.

"Led by the TLX A-Spec, we're pleased to see our efforts with Acura sedans paying off in the face of a challenging market for luxury cars," said Jon Ikeda, vice president & general manager of Acura Sales. "We're looking forward to showing the 2019 RDX Prototype in Chicago next week, as the auto show circuit comes to one of Acura's strongest markets."