Honda Sales Dip 4.0% In January - Acura Sales Lift Off 14.1% For Month

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported January 2014 Honda and Acura vehicle sales of 91,631 units, a decrease of 2.1 percent vs. the same period last year amid record cold weather that affected industry sales in many parts of the U.S. Led by a strong lineup of all-weather SUVs, the Acura Division gained substantially in January, with sales up 14.1 percent for a total of 10,823 for the month.  The Honda Division recorded sales of 80,808. 

Honda
Record cold weather in several of Honda's stronghold markets in Eastern and Midwestern parts of the country helped cool sales across the board in the first month of the year. Despite the chill, both Civic and Accord managed to top 20,000 units while the award-winning Odyssey posted a double-digit increase. CR-V also recorded a January rise.
•The Civic was the best-selling Honda model in January with 21,824 sales.
•Odyssey showed the brand's biggest gain, up 16.6 percent on sales of 7,879.
•CR-V posted 18,232 sales, an increase of 2.4 percent.

"After a hot sales year in 2013 that saw the CR-V join Accord and Civic as the third Honda vehicle to sell more than 300,000 for the first time in our history, January's foul weather cooled things a bit," said John Mendel, executive vice president of automobile sales at American Honda. "We look forward to a warming trend, especially as new products like the updated 2014 Civic Si and the all-new 2015 Fit join the lineup this year."

Acura
•Acura light truck sales extended a remarkable run, setting a fourth straight monthly record.
•MDX also continued its exceptionally strong sales pace with a 64.7 percent increase for its best January ever.
•RDX claimed its 21st consecutive monthly record, adding 9.7 percent for another January record.

"Even the frigid January weather couldn't stop the all-wheel-drive MDX and RDX from posting another record sales month," said Jeff Conrad, vice president and general manager of Acura Sales. "Acura is starting the year on strong footing that will get even stronger when the RLX Sport Hybrid and all-new TLX luxury sport sedan go on sale later this year."
 

bnilhome - 2/3/2014 10:22:56 PM

+2 Boost

Given the negative press Acura gets on a site like this, I'm wondering what the explanation will be for Acura's solid increase in January sales.

Agent00R - 2/3/2014 11:50:03 PM

0 Boost

The explanation is simple: MDX, MDX, MDX.

In the NY Tri-State they're everywhere and if you look at the numbers it's one of the only Acura vehicles that sold more units YOY — the RLX did too but considering last year it only moved 13 units and 420 this year it's not much of an accomplishment in its respective class.

Acura has a loyal following much like Volvo.

cidflekken - 2/4/2014 2:46:27 PM

+2 Boost

Agree with 00R that Acura's SUVs are holding the fort down. But, the sedans, despite alot of the negative criticisms, are holding their own as well. Acura does have a very loyal following, but their conquest sales are probably minute in comparison. I think the TLX will change that pretty quickly and bring the mid-position car in Acura's lineup to its previous prominent sales position. Not sure how the RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD will impact sales because, let's face it, people still are put off by the styling.

All things considered, Acura's not doing badly. It continually bests Audi and Infiniti. And this month, it practically matched Cadillac's retail sales, surprising considering how much positive press Cadillacs are receiving.

So, where does that leave Acura? Though many were hoping the RLX would signal its revival, I really think that the TLX and then the NSX will spearhead its revival. Hopefully, the TLX will drive many more customers back to the brand, and when those buyers are ready to step up, one can only hope that the RLX will be redesigned by that time.

And let's just hope that Acura fixes the ILX. Part of the problem for the ILX was the update to the Civic. Back when Acura had the Integra, it was based on the Civic, but there were clear differences in quality and driving dynamic. Nowadays, because the non-premium compact market has evolved and advanced so much, those previous differences just don't really exist so many don't see the reason to buy the ILX when you can get a Civic for less money. I do believe that Honda/Acura tried to go back to the Civic/Integra formula when the 2012 Civic was introduced (with the cheaper interior, etc.) but it failed.