Honda Falls Behind 6-Speed Trend

As with it its chief competitor Toyota Motor Corp., which has had to delay the launch of new models due to too few employees, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. also is being affected by its growth.

Honda, the No.2 Japanese OEM globally, has seen 11 consecutive years of record-setting sales in the U.S., with demand growing from slightly less than 800,000 units in 1996 to a projected 1.37 million this year.

This steady growth is partly the reason why Honda doesn't yet offer a 6-speed automatic transmission, a company source tells Ward's.

Falling behind the market in 6-speed transmissions is ironic for Honda, which is known for technological innovation. It was the first OEM to market with a hybrid-electric vehicle in the U.S. (the discontinued Insight) and also the creator of the catalytic converter-less compound vortex controlled combustion (CVCC) engine.

“In the last five to 10 years, we've really grown the number of products, but the manpower is still the same,” the company insider says. “We've been wanting to do (a 6-speed automatic) for a while. It is just (a matter of) resources.”

Once the realm of luxury models, 6-speed automatics have been making their way into lower-priced models, such as the Toyota Camry.

Even Detroit OEMs, long satisfied with 4-speed automatics, have introduced 6-speed gearboxes in mainstream models.

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. jointly developed a 6-speed gearbox now used in GM and Ford vehicles.

Chitoshi Yokota, chief engineer for the '08 Accord, says Honda is in “the middle of development” for a 6-speed automatic.