Have Honda sales hit bottom? Their March sales press release sure wants you to think so. The 33.7 percent drop in sales last month “appears particularly steep when compared to last year’s strong first quarter,” admits Honda’s NA sales honcho, John Mendel. Compared to January’s 35.4 percent slide, though, March’s are a slim improvement, and maybe (just maybe) a tipping point in Honda’s sales results. Breakdowns reveal that, in general, the bigger the Honda the worse the sales decline. Ridgeline (-66 percent), Element (-70 percent), RL (-69 percent), RDX (-50 percent) and MDX (-47 percent) were the big losers, while only the new TSX increased its sales compared to last March, posting a 16 percent increase. The new Insight Hybrid suffered from limited availability in its first partial sales month, posting only 569 sales. Given the larger sales trends, however, there’s a good chance that the new cheapest hybrid in America will help boost Honda sales in its bread-and-butter small, efficient car sales.
In retrospect, this makes Ford’s 41% fall not so bad. If everyone else is losing around 35%, then what is 41? Wonder how GM and Dodge faired with all the shots they have been taking?
I like Honda, really want to see them do well and maybe have GM (another pet company of mine) sit up and take notice and would be tickled if they became a NA company but…
I don’t see anyone hitting a tipping point anytime soon. Maybe a plateau. All this stimulus stuff is bogus, if all we had to do was stimulate we could stimulate ourselves into $250K median incomes. Instead we’re borrowing from the future (the debt will be passed on in the form of higher taxes down the road) and this lack of purchasing power will affect everyones sales well into the next generation. So even if sales do take off again in the next year or two they’re going to flatten out long term.
there’s a good chance that the new cheapest hybrid in America will help boost Honda sales in its bread-and-butter small, efficient car sales.
You are Joking right?
Accord/Civic are still their best selling vehicles by far.
The bread and butter is still the mid sized car.
Check the numbers.
I think the “LSD” on the front bumper of the vehicle in the picture is ironically appropriate…:-D..
I’m surprised that TSX sales are up, they’ve ruined the car IMO. The huge slide in the rest doesn’t surprise me too much, especially the aging Element, the overpriced/underdelivering RL, and the miserably fugly Ridgeline.
I’m surprised that TSX sales are up, they’ve ruined the car IMO
I’ve seen a few and driven one and it’s really not as bad as it’s being made out to be. It feels more like a real car and less like a trumped-up econo-box. If you can stand the comparison, it’s like the difference between the Protege and Mazda3: yes, the former was more fun, but the latter is a better car. Other than the electric power steering being a problem (which is funny, because the Fit has EPS and handles quite well), it’s a good car, and while it’s not pretty, it’s not hideous like the TL.
What I am surprised by is the Element. It’s a very practical and not expensive vehicle that gets decent mileage and rates highly in Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings. You’d think that it’d be doing better than it is.
I’m not surprised by the Ridgeline, MDX and RDX. They’re middling, discretionary vehicles that had a chance when the economy was fat.
I’m surprised the TSX is doing well too. I just had one as a loaner for 2 days, and the steering is awful. I hardly ever notice a car’s steering, and don’t have the ability to sense great steering, but I could not place the new TSX accurately.
My 2006 TSX is superior on that front. Additionally the previous TSX was not based on an economy car chassis but rather the Euro Accord chassis, itself not an economy car (as is the news TSX).
The new TSX is quieter and feels more substantial, but the interior is only considered an improvement if you like imposing dashboards and lots of buttons, and the engine sounded less refined. I was so glad to get my car back when they fixed the navigation.
I’m sure it sells well because it’s not bad, and it’s a good value, but I didn’t expect it to be up. There are plenty of other great options for the price.
C’mon, arithmetic’s not that hard. 88,379 this March versus 138,734 last equals a sales drop of 36.3%, not 33.7% The domestics and Europeans have dropped the phony “selling days” metric, and you should as well. As correctly calculated, Toyota (39%) and Honda had sales decreases right in line with the D3.
In fact, Chrysler did as well as Toyota. And they’ll likely beat Toyota going forward-those bankruptcy trustees know how to move the metal.
Problem with the Element is that it hasn’t fundamentally changed since 2003, its release.
There’s been a few _minor_ design changes, and a small bump in power. That’s it. Other than that, nothing. If anything, the 2009 is a step backwards, as they elimnated the rear sunroof in the AWD models.
The Element is doomed, which is a shame. There really isn’t anything else out there to fill its unique role.
Insight didn’t suffer from limited availability, it suffered from limited interest. I stopped by two dealerships in the past 2 weeks that had them on the lot, and neither sold a single one.
PS. When are we getting an Insight review?!?! I took it for a spin and have my own thoughts, but would really like to see what a professional thinks.
NoSubstitute :
April 1st, 2009 at 2:36 pm
As correctly calculated, Toyota (39%) and Honda had sales decreases right in line with the D3.
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45% is not in line with 36%.
$10k bailout per vehicle is not in line with no bailout at all.
Let’s keep in mind that Honda spent about 1/4 of what GM & Cryco, and 1/3 of what Ford did on incentives.
For this market their showing is pretty solid.
Bunter
wsn-Straight on.
Anyone that thinks GM, Ford and Cry wouldn’t LOVE haveing a 33% drop with only $1200 on the hood of each is not paying attention. Gm alone would have moved about 30k more vehicles and saved 1/2 Billion of our money.
Ya’, it’s a difference.
Bunter
@ psarhjinian: I’ve driven the new TSX, back to back against the old one, and I much prefer the way the old one drives. The new one, to me, just feels bigger, heavier, and less eager to go where it’s pointed. It just isn’t as fun to drive, IMO, and on top of that, they totally screwed the styling. The old one was a little bland, but it was clean. The new one looks like they tried too hard to be different and it came out all wrong.
Sales drops are not “right in line with the D3” It’s year-to year. Honda didn’t start dropping until about Sept last year (they were down 3.7% last March from 07). Ford and GM were down 14.5%. What that means is that Honda’s drop is in line or slightly behind the drop in the whole market, which hurts, no doubt about it but isn’t near as big.
Ford is essentially down 50% from two years ago (the last of the 16 million years), 100, 86, 52. GM and Chrysler are even lower. Eventually, they will hit a reduction in reductions before their competition (the D3 were losing big by last summer), which will be a bit of a false dawn. This is why market share numbers matter, the kingdom of the blind and the one-eyed man and all that.