Honda Sales Slide 31.6 Percent In November

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to hear that sales of nearly every Honda and Acura model were down in November, but just try guessing the one vehicle that actually increased sales. It’s not the brand-spankety new version of the once-hot Fit, which is down by 8.4 percent. Perennial best sellers Accord and Civic were also down 38.1 and 29.6 percent respectively. Nor did a single Acura crack into positive territory compared to last November, with the RL losing 40.3 percent, the TL dropping 22.2 percent and the all-new TSX down 9.1 percent. No, the only Honda/Acura vehicle that was up in November was the Pilot SUV, which was up 4.5 percent versus last November’s sales. Perhaps the biggest surprise isn’t that Honda’s best seller is an SUV, it’s that the Civic Hybrid is down 67.8 percent. The learning just never ends in this industry.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Honda_Lover Honda_Lover on Dec 02, 2008

    CR-V sales remain strong in the Puget Sound region.

  • John Horner John Horner on Dec 02, 2008

    Uh, wait a minute. The Pilot was the only model with a sales uptick, but it still isn't Honda's best seller. From the referenced press release November 2008: Civic 17,690 units, Accord 17,430, CRV 12,153, Odyssey 7,294 and Pilot 5,601. Pilot was up a few hundred units from November 2007, but still is towards the back of the pack in Honda's lineup. Hybrids of all kinds are suddenly in massive supply with fuel back down to ~$2/gallon or less. I just received a Buy Now promotional email from Sunnyvale Toyota pushing $1-$2k discounts on new 2009 Prii with over 165 in stock.

  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Dec 04, 2008

    Man do Americans ever have a short attention span. I wonder if they will enjoy their Pilots and SUVs after gas beings to rise again. Maybe the groups that are buying now are immune to the cost of fuel or will be able to absorb the losses if they sell their SUVs while gasoline prices are rising. Anybody know how much demand for gasoline has dropped? Has it dropped 50%? I didn't think so. So a very small change in demand causes the prices to free-fall (relatively speaking from $5 per gal).

  • Geeber Geeber on Dec 04, 2008
    joeaverage: Maybe the groups that are buying now are immune to the cost of fuel or will be able to absorb the losses if they sell their SUVs while gasoline prices are rising. Honda buyers have some of the best demographics regarding income, education and credit worthiness, so, yes, they probably can afford both the vehicle and the cost of gasoline. joe average: Anybody know how much demand for gasoline has dropped? Has it dropped 50%? I didn’t think so. So a very small change in demand causes the prices to free-fall (relatively speaking from $5 per gal). I believe demand has dropped by about 3 percent; which is impressive, considering that demand usually RISES about 3 percent each year.
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