[Titanic]

06/03/2008 - TORRANCE, Calif. -

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., May sales of 167,997, up 11.3 percent on a daily-selling-rate basis(1), shattered the company's all-time sales record for any month as Civic sales reached 53,299, up 28.3 percent versus last May and surpassing the previous monthly record for any car in the lineup.
New all-time records set in May included (previous record in parentheses):

• American Honda total vehicle sales of 167,997 (August 2007:158,342)
• American Honda total car sales of 114,796 (August 2002: 95,686)
• Honda Division total vehicle sales of 153,104 (August 2007: 141,906)
• Honda Division total car sales of 105,548 (August 2003: 84,390)
• Honda Civic Sales of 53,299 (May 2007: 39,993)
• Honda Civic Hybrid sales of 4,676 (May 2007: 4,520)
• Honda Fit sales of 8,205 (March 2008: 6,835)
• Acura TSX sales of 4,564 (April 2006: 3,911)

"The dramatic increase in car sales appears to be one of the most profound shifts in automotive buying patterns in more than a decade," said **** Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda. "Record sales of the Honda Civic clearly demonstrate an accelerated trend toward fuel efficiency."
Honda Division sales of 153,104 increased 13.9 percent for the month as total car sales reached 105,548, up 30.7 percent. The Honda Civic, with sales of 53,299, set a new monthly sales record for any model in the Honda lineup, surpassing the previous record of 49,098 set in August 2003 by the Accord.

May 2008 Accord sales of 43,728, up 31.9 percent versus last year, set a new May record, surpassing the previous high of 43,589 set in May 2004. The CR-V set a new May mark of 19,959, exceeding the previous record of 19,513 set in 2007. Honda Division reported truck sales of 47,556, a decrease of 11.4 percent. Year-to-date Honda Division sales are up 5.4 percent to 590,361.

Acura Division sales totaled 14,893. Sales of the completely redesigned 2009 TSX sports sedan increased 53.7 percent and set a new all-time record of 4,564, exceeding the previous record of 3,911 set in April 2006.
American Honda reported May truck sales of 53,201, a decrease of 12.1 percent. Year-to-date American Honda sales increased 3.1 percent to 655,819.

(1) All percentages in this release reflect the daily selling rate as calculated with 27 days for May 2008, versus 26 for 2007. Year to date, the daily selling rate is calculated with 129 days for 2008, versus 127 for 2007.

Full Release (with sales chart)

 

[tgagneguam]

The part about this whole article that most disappoints me is that any one of GM's divisions could be posting this news, yet we're not seeing it. Absolutely frustrating that foreign brands are able to find success in the exact same market that GM continually describes as challenging. It's news like this, which basically has been repeated for the better part of 2.5 decades, that I find so frustrating.

I'm sure the apologists will come up with many reasons why GM cannot simply duplicate this success. Not surprisingly, all seem perfectly inadequate.

 

[Stéphane Dumas]

any more stats about the buyers demographics? I doubt then the fleet market received some Civics

Edit: also lots of radio and tv ads at least here in Quebec, Canada. Mention then Honda is the more greener and all, I couldn't call it a sort of brainwash but....

the more I see Honda, the more it don't have the "little guy" image to my eyes

 

[Subtle_Cynicism]

I know this much...

The Civic sedans (all trim levels) are selling at MSRP or higher at the Honda dealership I get service done at. They've actually, according to the salesperson I talk to frequently, raised the prices on them several times in the last few months because of the demand: the sedans rarely last more than a few days on the lot.

The coupes, however, are marked down $1,500.

 

[Maas Oyama]

Honda U.S. sales rise 15.6% in May

SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - Honda Motor Co.'s American Honda Motor Co. said total sales rose 15.6% in May to 167,997 vehicles from 145,367 in the same month a year earlier.
Adjusting for one additional selling day in the latest month, total sales rose 11.3%.

http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=64497524206296

holy moly! thats truly humongous! thats well north of chrysler' s 148,747 units

Chrysler LLC, owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, said Tuesday that May sales fell 25% to 148,747 units from 199,393 units a year earlier.

http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=64497524206434

 

[Tiger]

Read the fine print:

1. Acura is down nearly 14% on the year. Even a new TSX couldn't help this month. RDX is below 1,500 units!

2. Civic, Accord, Fit are up. Nothing else! Everything else is down...even the CR-V.

 

[HoosierRon]

Odyssey down -18.0%
Pilot down -19.7%
CR-V down -1.5%
Element down -18.8%
Ridgeline down -16.5%
MDX down -10.9%
RDX down -34.5%

That's right, folks, every single truck that Honda/Acura makes was down last month. As was the RL, TL, and S2000. Furthermore, the Civic hybrid sales were DOWN, and Honda has abandoned the Accord hybrid.

Yes, indeed, these guys are brilliant. They can do no wrong.

 

[BrickTamland]

Read the fine print:

1. Acura is down nearly 14% on the year. Even a new TSX couldn't help this month. RDX is below 1,500 units!

2. Civic, Accord, Fit are up. Nothing else! Everything else is down...even the CR-V.

It is worth noting the CR-V is actually up by a few hundred units, but is down when adjusted on a sales-day basis.

 

[racy]

any more stats about the buyers demographics? I doubt then the fleet market received some Civics

Edit: also lots of radio and tv ads at least here in Quebec, Canada. Mention then Honda is the more greener and all, I couldn't call it a sort of brainwash but....

the more I see Honda, the more it don't have the "little guy" image to my eyes

The article is consistent with what we've been seeing within our own business. I can't go into details of who work for, but we've seen across the country this scenario:

- Honda Dealerships are like fire sales at a shopping mall - 7 days a week. Dealerships are literally breaking records in terms of the sheer number of booked deals.

- Chevy dealerships resemble ghost towns, with the occasional tumbleweed blowing across the showroom floor. Not all Chevy stores are like this, as this mainly applies to those stores whose lots are lined with Trucks and SUVs. However, even the more car oriented stores are not seeing business anywhere near like what we're seeing at the Honda stores.

I know this is totally unscientific, but the feeling reminds me of the period of time just after the 9/11 attacks. *ALL* car stores were empty. It was an eery time period for a few very long weeks, when the only people coming to the stores were the employees. It is not quite that bad, but many of our Chevy dealerships are seeing similar times.

And here's this little tidbit of a trend that we've been noticing as well. I don't have any hard numbers, but over the past 6 months, we've been seeing something we haven't before: The number of Ford dealerships closing, the number of new Toyota stores opening, and the relationship of those new Toyota stores purchasing the old Ford stores - Ford stores that have been around for 75 years, mind you.

 

[Ach]

The Civic gets 37 mpg highway with an automatic and still has decent power. I don't care for it (except for the Si sedan) but it's not that hard to understand the success.

The thing is, I think Honda (unlike Toyo and the Big 3) can get by just by selling tons of a couple of models (Civics and Accords).

 

[johnstarnes]

And in the same time frame GM saw a big sales DROP...could it have anything to do with the vehicles each offers the buying public?....hmmmm......

 

[lio45]

Odyssey down -18.0%
Pilot down -19.7%
CR-V down -1.5%
Element down -18.8%
Ridgeline down -16.5%
MDX down -10.9%
RDX down -34.5%

That's right, folks, every single truck that Honda/Acura makes was down last month. As was the RL, TL, and S2000. Furthermore, the Civic hybrid sales were DOWN, and Honda has abandoned the Accord hybrid.

Yes, indeed, these guys are brilliant. They can do no wrong.

Trucks sales are down. How surprising.

Would you rather

a ) be reliant on profitable truck sales to keep your head out of the water, while having your truck sales fall like a rock (GM)

or

b ) be known for good small cars, while having your truck sales fall like a rock (Honda)

????


Currently, I certainly would not want to trade my Honda stock for GM stock.

 

[zete]

Every manufacturer is seeing the same thing: trucks down, cars up.

Those that are heavily into trucks -- Ford, GM -- show large drops. Those that are heavily into cars -- Honda -- show large increases. Those that have a mix or are starting to push into trucks -- Toyota -- also dropped.

What this shows is that people are conscious of fuel economy. And if they need something for family hauling purposes, then they'll opt for a crossover and probably examine the mileage numbers.

I still think GM knew this was coming and they wanted to milk the GMT900s while the milking was good. The Lambdas followed, and they can take up some of the slack for those that need the room but don't want the mileage of a traditional SUV.

Overall, we're seeing a releveling to what I consider "normal". And Honda was able to ramp up the cars in demand -- 4 cylinder vehicles. Toyota did the same as did Ford to a certain extent. GM didn't quite do it, and part of that may have been strikes and parts shortages due to strikes. We'll know if GM has gotten things together as we watch Malibu production ramp up continue, Cobalt production and, ultimately, the new small cars GM says are due "RSN" -- real soon now.

Honda's lack of a full line is what's great for them and I'm sure that isn't lost on the other car makers who find themselves with large swaths of their lineup no longer attracting consumer attention.

 

[BGH]

Most Honda trucks have been down month over month for a while, at least a year. Acura has also been doing miserably.

The CRV is stable up in sales but down 1.5% when adjusted. They could probably sell more civics if they could make more. They recently devoted the whole Alliston plant to civic production and moved SUV production to a U.S. plant.

Fit sales are also limited by a lack of supply, and Honda can't produce 50k civics a month at Alliston. They have a new plant in Indiana opening, but they may start importing some more cars from Japan.

 

[paul8488]

Even with trucks down Honda is up 11% and had a record month. I find that quite impressive.

 

[Ming]

Salt in the wound. But it's been predicted something like this could happen for so many years, that GM Upper manangements dismissals and predictions that it would take $8.00/gallon for Americans to move into smaller cars was simply inexcusably out of touch with reality.

 

[throwback]

I think GM knew that $3.50 per gallon was the tipping point. How could they not? Analysts have been saying as much for years. GM's problem is they are shortsighted. When trucks were selling and profits were rolling in, why not put some money into better cars? I don't think Rick and crew JUST realized that trucks sales are going down. Now they are under the gun and pushing to get small cars in showrooms. I hope E-Flex is as good as advertised, as I think that is the one program that could save GM.

 

[Michael_S]

Odyssey down -18.0%
Pilot down -19.7%
CR-V down -1.5%
Element down -18.8%
Ridgeline down -16.5%
MDX down -10.9%
RDX down -34.5%

That's right, folks, every single truck that Honda/Acura makes was down last month. As was the RL, TL, and S2000. Furthermore, the Civic hybrid sales were DOWN, and Honda has abandoned the Accord hybrid.

Yes, indeed, these guys are brilliant. They can do no wrong.

Total sales up 11% in May versus total sales down 30% in May.

If the Honda executives are stupid, what does that make the GM executives?

 

[stormwatcher]

Yes, trucks are down, but overall sales are up . . . meaning Honda can flex to other vehicles and meet demand, increase sales, and most important of all, make a profit in a down market.

Odyssey down -18.0%
Pilot down -19.7%
CR-V down -1.5%
Element down -18.8%
Ridgeline down -16.5%
MDX down -10.9%
RDX down -34.5%

That's right, folks, every single truck that Honda/Acura makes was down last month. As was the RL, TL, and S2000. Furthermore, the Civic hybrid sales were DOWN, and Honda has abandoned the Accord hybrid.

Yes, indeed, these guys are brilliant. They can do no wrong.

 

[TriShield]

Salt in the wound. But it's been predicted something like this could happen for so many years, that GM Upper manangements dismissals and predictions that it would take $8.00/gallon for Americans to move into smaller cars was simply inexcusably out of touch with reality.

Bob Lutz, "People that buy SUVs don't care about fuel costs."

lol