Honda Leads November Sales Growth, Up 8.3%

Honda posts the biggest gains among the Big Seven automakers, growing November sales in the U.S. 8.3% over year-ago and its year-to-date market share to 9.6% from 9.4% in like-2016.

The Japanese automaker recorded 133,156 deliveries in November and a year-to-date tally of 1,492,112 vehicles. The Acura luxury brand accounted for 12,716 of the monthly total, representing 9.5% growth over year-ago, according to WardsAuto data.

Driving the November increase for the Honda brand were the CR-V (up 25.0% to 32,206 units), Pilot (up 57.2% to 14,189) and Civic (up 23.2% to 31,181). The Accord sedan, which includes the all-new ’18 model that continues its rollout to dealerships, shows a 15.4% drop to 22,998 units from like-2016. There were 25 sales days in November, same as last year.

Honda says it set a monthly sales record for its trucks, utility vehicles and minivans, up 15.8% as a group to 62,981 vehicles.

Stumbling for Honda were the Fit subcompact (-35.0% to 2,799 units), Ridgeline pickup (-24.7% to 2,610) and HR-V subcompact (-24.4% to 6,153).

The all-new Odyssey minivan posted 7,823 deliveries in November, down 1.9% from like-2016.

“We remain committed to our long-term strategic plans built around steady and sustainable growth,” Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of the Automobile Division & general manager of Honda Sales, says in a press release.

Acura posted November gains with the MDX crossover (+15.6% from year-ago to 5,341 units) and TLX sedan (+12.4% to 2,564). The NSX hybrid supercar was up 62.7% to 83 units for the month.

Meanwhile, Toyota’s monthly results were down 6.7% for the Lexus luxury brand (to 27,118 vehicles) and 2.4% for the Toyota brand (to 164,499). Overall car sales for Toyota group were off 10.1%, while light trucks were up 2.3%.

“Through November, the auto industry remains on track to have its third consecutive year of new vehicle sales topping 17 million, in-line with our expectations,” says Jack Hollis, group vice president and general manager, Toyota division.

Losers for the Toyota brand included the Avalon (-43% to 2,453 units), Corolla (-33.2% to 17,864), Highlander (-10.2% to 19,077), Prius (-23.2% to 7,008) and Sienna (-17.1% to 7,670).

Gainers for the Toyota brand include the new Camry (+24.1% to 34,991 units), 4Runner (+16.9% to 10,103), Tacoma (+4.3% to 16,195) and a former Scion subcompact, the Yaris iA (+51.3% to 2,549).

In November, the Camry outsold the RAV4, which notched 28,736 deliveries (+2.2%), but the RAV4 is destined to be the Toyota brand’s best seller for 2017, with 375,052 units to date.

Hollis says light trucks continue to shine for Toyota division, scoring another monthly best-ever led by an 11th consecutive best-ever monthly total for RAV4.

Lexus is struggling across the board, bucking a trend that sees automakers offsetting losses in car sales with growth in light trucks and utility vehicles.

The only Lexus vehicles showing growth in November were the GX large SUV (+5.4% to 2,432 units) and NX midsize CUV (+5.5% to 5,404).

“Our redesigned NX is proving to be a very popular choice for our customers,” says Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager Jeff Bracken. “And by February 2018, shoppers will see four additional models to our Lexus lineup: an RX L 3-row, an RX L hybrid 3-row, an LX 2- row, and a very limited-edition Inspiration Series LC 500.”

Slow sellers for Lexus include the GS sedan (-38.5% to 739 units) and IS sedan (-31.2% to 2,458). Even the perennial best-selling RX midsize CUV was down 1.6% to 10,102 units.

Nissan did not report sales data today due to a technical glitch, but Subaru continues its steady growth, delivering 51,721 vehicles in November, good for 3.8% U.S. market share, according to WardsAuto data. Year-to-date, Subaru has sold 584,614 vehicles, 5.9% above year-ago.

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