December 2018: American Honda Motor Co.

[William Maley]

Trucks Drive New Records and Acura Turns a Corner as American Honda Posts December Sales Increase

• Acura brand sales rise 2.8% in 2018, punctuated by best-ever monthly and annual truck sales
• Acura RDX has best-ever annual and December sales, its second-best month in history
• Honda brand posts best-ever annual and December truck sales with overall December increase as Honda CR-V sets all-time monthly record, topping 42,000 sales
• Accord sales jump 29.4% as passenger car sales remain strong; electrified vehicles set new annual record

"In 2018, we took advantage of the continued consumer shift toward light-trucks, contributing to another record year for our Honda and Acura light-truck businesses," said Henio Arcangeli Jr., senior vice president of the American Honda Automobile Division. "In addition to our light-truck success, our passenger car business also delivered another strong year, with Civic retaining its crown in 2018 as the best-selling retail compact car in America for nine years running and Accord commanding the highest transaction prices in the midsize segment. We remain bullish on the passenger car business and look forward to another great year in 2019 across our entire Honda and Acura lineups."

Honda Brand Report
Honda finished 2018 on a strong note with both cars and trucks gaining in December, overcoming over four months of lost production due to a flood that shut the Celaya, Mexico auto plant to narrowly miss a new annual sales mark.

• Truck sales set new monthly and annual records led by CR-V which set an all-time monthly record, with 42,079 units in December, a gain of 13.8%. Pilot set a new annual mark, eclipsing its previous record by over 7,000.
• Accord jumped a strong 29.4% on 28,627 in sales for the month.
• Electrified vehicle sales set new monthly and annual sales records with 6,899 December sales, the 6th straight month above 5,000 units.

Acura Brand Report
Acura was one of the few luxury brands to increase sales (+2.8%) in 2018, setting records for RDX and light trucks, leading to new market share and the brand’s first annual gain since 2014.

• Acura trucks set a new monthly sales record, gaining 17.5% on 12,786 units
• RDX gained 42.2% to set a new December mark on sales of 6,838 units, the model’s 7th consecutive monthly record and second best month in history.
• MDX had December sales of 5,948 units, helping the model to its 7th straight year of 50,000+ annual sales.
• ILX and RLX sedans gained in December, with ILX up 10.7% and RLX gaining 16.1% (its best month in 2018). 

	American Honda Vehicle Sales for December 2018
								Month-to-Date						Year-to-Date
								December 2018		December 2017	DSR** % Change		MoM % Change	December 2018		December 2017	DSR** % Change	YoY % Change
	American Honda Total							155,115		149,317	3.9%		3.9%	1,604,828		1,641,429	-2.5%	-2.2%
	Total Car Sales							64,860		62,577	3.6%		3.6%	728,695		800,979	-9.3%	-9.0%
	Total Truck Sales							90,255		86,740	4.1%		4.1%	876,133		840,450	3.9%	4.2%
	Honda						Total Car Sales	60,872		58,399	4.2%		4.2%	684,853		752,558	-9.3%	-9.0%
	Honda						Total Truck Sales	77,469		75,856	2.1%		2.1%	761,041		734,269	3.3%	3.6%
	Acura						Total Car Sales	3,988		4,178	-4.5%		-4.5%	43,842		48,421	-9.8%	-9.5%
	Acura						Total Truck Sales	12,786		10,884	17.5%		17.5%	115,092		106,181	8.0%	8.4%
	* Total Domestic Car Sales							51,918		55,307	-6.1%		-6.1%	600,195		682,968	-12.4%	-12.1%
					Honda Division			48,146		51,315	-6.2%		-6.2%	558,284		635,784	-12.5%	-12.2%
					Acura Division			3,772		3,992	-5.5%		-5.5%	41,911		47,184	-11.5%	-11.2%
	* Total Domestic Truck Sales							89,557		86,740	3.2%		3.2%	875,430		840,450	3.8%	4.2%
					Honda Division			76,771		75,856	1.2%		1.2%	760,338		734,269	3.2%	3.6%
					Acura Division			12,786		10,884	17.5%		17.5%	115,092		106,181	8.0%	8.4%
	Total Import Car Sales							12,942		7,270	78.0%		78.0%	128,500		118,011	8.5%	8.9%
					Honda Division			12,726		7,084	79.6%		79.6%	126,569		116,774	8.0%	8.4%
					Acura Division			216		186	16.1%		16.1%	1,931		1,237	55.6%	56.1%
	Total Import Truck Sales							698		0	0.0%		0.0%	703		0	0.0%	0.0%
					Honda Division			698		0	0.0%		0.0%	703		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							138,341		134,255	3.0%		3.0%	1,445,894		1,486,827	-3.1%	-2.8%
			ACCORD					28,627		22,115	29.4%		29.4%	291,071		322,655	-10.1%	-9.8%
			CIVIC					26,384		31,406	-16.0%		-16.0%	325,760		377,286	-13.9%	-13.7%
			CLARITY					2,857		1,425	100.5%		100.5%	20,174		2,455	719.1%	721.8%
			CR-Z					1		19	-94.7%		-94.7%	38		705	-94.6%	-94.6%
			FIT					768		3,434	-77.6%		-77.6%	35,300		49,454	-28.9%	-28.6%
			INSIGHT					2,235		0	0.0%		0.0%	12,510		3	415,541.7%	416,900.0%
			CROSSTOUR					0		0	0.0%		0.0%	0		5	-100.0%	-100.0%
			CR-V					42,079		36,983	13.8%		13.8%	379,013		377,895	-0.0%	0.3%
			HR-V					6,313		7,543	-16.3%		-16.3%	85,494		94,034	-9.4%	-9.1%
			ODYSSEY					10,512		9,874	6.5%		6.5%	106,327		100,307	5.7%	6.0%
			PILOT					15,698		18,602	-15.6%		-15.6%	159,615		127,279	25.0%	25.4%
			RIDGELINE					2,867		2,854	0.5%		0.5%	30,592		34,749	-12.2%	-12.0%
	Acura Division Total							16,774		15,062	11.4%		11.4%	158,934		154,602	2.5%	2.8%
			ILX					924		835	10.7%		10.7%	11,273		11,757	-4.4%	-4.1%
			NSX					17		56	-69.6%		-69.6%	170		581	-70.8%	-70.7%
			RLX / RL					216		186	16.1%		16.1%	1,931		1,237	55.6%	56.1%
			TLX					2,831		3,101	-8.7%		-8.7%	30,468		34,846	-12.8%	-12.6%
			MDX					5,948		6,076	-2.1%		-2.1%	51,512		54,886	-6.5%	-6.1%
			RDX					6,838		4,808	42.2%		42.2%	63,580		51,295	23.5%	23.9%
	Selling Days							26		26				307		306
	*    Honda and Acura vehicles are made of domestic & global sourced parts
	**   Daily Selling Rate

[Drew Dowdell]

Accord down 10% for the year, Civic down 13%, Fit down 28%.   These are widely considered to be the best in their class.

Tells you why Ford, GM, and FCA have started phasing out their car lineups.