Honda Kills Crosstour, Shifting Models Among Plants

After much speculation due to shrinking volume, Honda announces it is discontinuing the Crosstour midsize CUV with the ’16 model year.

“The Crosstour, introduced in 2010, served a positive role in helping the Honda brand target crossover buyers,” John Mendel, executive vice president-American Honda, says in a statement. “However, the crossover segment has evolved and we believe the all-new ’16 Honda HR-V launching later this spring will create new value for crossover shoppers and play a more significant role as a gateway model for the Honda brand to drive light truck sales growth.”

Sales of the Crosstour fell 38.3% through March to 2,046 units, WardsAuto data shows. Honda initially wanted to sell 40,000 units annually of the Accord-based CUV, but the vehicle’s best tally was 28,851 in 2010.

Competitor Toyota recently killed its similar Venza model, which through March sold 6,781 units, down 10.1% vs. year-ago.

Honda had hoped to boost Crosstour sales with a ’13 refresh, which included a reworked interior and exterior.

“We wanted to reinforce visually for customers that it was much more capable than a sedan,” Vicki Poponi, assistant vice president-product planning for American Honda, told WardsAuto in September 2012, noting buyers had a hard time identifying the category the CUV fit in.

Mendel told WardsAuto earlier this year that while Crosstour sales were low, its owners were devoted. “The people who buy that car absolutely love it,” he said, noting that despite low volume it “filled a niche for people who are passionate about Honda and move on to other Honda vehicles.”

In eliminating the Crosstour from its lineup, American Honda will free up capacity for the in-demand Honda CR-V and Acura RDX midsize CUVs at its East Liberty, OH, plant. Honda earlier announced it will add output of the large Acura MDX CUV to East Liberty in early 2017.

Additionally, Honda says it will no longer build the Accord Hybrid model at its Marysville, OH, plant. That model will shift to Honda’s Sayama, Japan, plant, allowing the automaker to focus on building the more popular Accord sedan and coupe, as well as the Acura TLX midsize sedan and ILX compact sedan, the latter of which went into production in Marysville in February.

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