Honda Forecasts U.S. July Sales Spike; Adjusts Small CUV Timing

American Honda predicts its July sales will grow sharply over year-ago as it continues to recover from natural disasters that until recently have hampered U.S. volume.

“Our days’ supply is looking really good,” John Mendel, American Honda executive vice president, tells WardsAuto in an interview. “It’s nice not to talk about capacity issues, given the events of the last couple years.”

Mendel says Honda-brand deliveries should climb 16% to 18% this month, while Acura volume is expected to grow 7%-8%.

Honda sold 104,119 units and Acura 12,825 in the U.S. last July, WardsAuto data shows.

The auto maker forecasts sales of the Accord midsize sedan to rise 7% for the month, the Odyssey minivan 10%-12% and the Civic compact car and CR-V compact cross/utility vehicle 25% each.

At its current pace, the Accord should deliver 30,000 units in July and more than 300,000 for the year, Mendel says. Accord sales were up 20.4% through June compared with year-ago. The sedan and coupe have closed the gap with the No.1-selling Toyota Camry, but Honda maintains it won’t pile on incentives to topple the Camry this year.

However, the Accord was the No.1 midsize car in retail sales through May, based on R.L. Polk registration data, Mendel notes.

Sales of the Odyssey and CR-V are tracking roughly flat with last year, when they sold 125,000 and 280,000 units, respectively. The Odyssey last year lost the title of best-selling minivan to the Dodge Caravan, a notoriously fleet-heavy model.

“We can’t control (competitors) dropping 10,000, 20,000, or 30,000 units into rental (fleets),” Mendel says.

While sales of Acura cars are down from year-ago, Mendel remains upbeat about the brand’s light-truck prospects. The 1-year-old midsize RDX CUV continues to sell well and the redesigned ’14 large MDX should bolster Acura’s light-truck strength, he says.

Honda sees 5,000 MDX sales in July, after tumbling 22.4% in June to 3,828 units. The quicker-than-expected sell-down of the old MDX “kind of hurt us last month a little bit,” Mendel says, as the launch of the all-new ’14 model was slower than anticipated.

In the coming year, American Honda is slated to launch new versions of the Acura TL and TSX, possibly combining the two into one new model called the TLX, as well as the next-generation Honda Fit subcompact and a Fit-based CUV.

The two Fit models will be assembled at Honda’s under-construction plant in Celaya, Mexico.

Mendel disagrees with the notion the small CUV, hinted at the 2013 North American International Auto Show as an “Urban SUV” concept, is delayed.

While numerous media outlets, including WardsAuto, quoted Honda officials on an “early 2014” on-sale date for the small CUV, Mendel says there is no specific timing other than 2014.

American Honda sold 745,578 units through June, up 6.4% from like-2012. The auto maker continues to target “1.55 million and one” sales this year, which would best its U.S. record set in 2007.

[email protected]