Honda Racks Up Another Good Month With a 7.7% Sales Gain - Falls From Grace With A 10.2% Dive

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported total January sales of 106,380 Honda and Acura vehicles, an increase of 5.9 percent over January 2016 and a new record for the month. Total Honda Division sales as well as Honda truck sales also set new January records, with total Division sales rising 7.7 percent on sales of 97,178 and trucks up 30.2 percent on sales of 51,337 units. Acura Division sales totaled 9,202 vehicles in January, a decrease of 10.2 percent.

Honda
After posting a 3rd consecutive sales record in 2016, the Honda Division started 2017 with yet more monthly records, gaining 7.7 percent as cars and trucks continued to sell strongly. CR-V and HR-V led the way in January, pushing Honda trucks to another new record for the month.

• Honda Division sets new January mark, rising 7.7 percent on sales of 97,178 units.
• Honda trucks also set a new January record, jumping 30.2 percent on sales of 51,337.
• CR-V smashed its previous January best, gaining 52.5 percent on sales of 29,287 vehicles.  
• HR-V sales also gained sharply, rising to 5,689 in January for a gain of 36.2 percent versus last year.
• Accord and Fit sales remained strong in January.

"Our conservative approach to growth was criticized when the industry was growing faster but it is clearly paying dividends now as industry sales are flattening," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. "A steady cadence of products and disciplined sales tactics is the right approach for customers and dealers."

Acura
Acura brand sales remained fairly steady in January, with Acura light trucks demonstrating continued strength as RDX gained ground and MDX maintained a solid pace, even before dual sourcing of Acura's three-row luxury SUV begins this spring in Ohio, promising increased supply. 

• RDX sales were up 3.2 percent for the month, with 3,202 vehicles sold in January.
• NSX notched sales of 50 units for the month.

"In a month marked by major storms across the country, Acura maintained a steady pace with trucks leading the way," said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of the Acura division. "And a strong showing of the Acura NSX GT3 in its debut at Daytona last weekend just adds to the momentum building around the Acura brand."

malba2367 - 2/2/2017 4:54:02 PM

+1 Boost

From looking at the numbers it looks like Small SUV's have finally overtaken the family sedan as the vehicle class of choice. With the newest generation these vehicles have the interior quality and refinement of the midsize sedans rather than that of compact sedans as in the past. CRV and Rogue are the top selling (non-pickup) vehicles in the USA now. With CRV likely capacity constrained to some extent during its first full month of sales it looks like Honda has a huge hit on its hands with the new CRV.

MDarringer - 2/2/2017 5:34:44 PM

+1 Boost

What's ironic is that crossovers are essentially station wagons, but station wagons would never sell. Crossovers in general fly off the lot.

malba2367 - 2/2/2017 6:50:15 PM

+1 Boost

I know...I can never understand why Wagons never took off in the US. They are very practical compared to the family sedan. I think the CUV (which incidentally is also taking off in Europe) is more successful here because it is more comforting to be a little higher off the road considering all the pickups out there.

MDarringer - 2/2/2017 7:51:04 PM

+1 Boost

The one reason why--for me--a crossover is not always an adequate sedan replacement is that if you're going on a trip say with 4 people, it's quite possible the sedan will swallow their luggage better. For cargo carrying, the crossover wins, but for people and luggage carrying, it's not always so pleasant.

It would not surprise me to see--in the USA--the Fiesta completely displaced by the EcoSport.. It also would not surprise me to see the Focus sedan be replaced with a crossover below the Escape. The Fusion will continue because--of Ford's sedans--it's the one that makes the best "sense".

The problem at the moment with smaller "American" crossovers is that they are pretty crappy. The Trax cannot be replaced fast enough with something less agricultural and from what I been told the Ecosport is shinola on a turd. The Renegade is an OK effort, but the Compass could quite easily become a segment leader.

I grew up riding in a Chevy station wagon and my kids are growing up in a Chevy Suburban pretending to be a Cadillac--don't get me started on that--but the old station wagon was fun.