Honda Plummets to Seventh Place in U.S. Market

Long a fixture in the so-called Big Six U.S. auto makers, Honda has not occupied seventh position in monthly sales since it fell behind Volkswagen in October 1981, according to Ward’s.

Eric Mayne, Senior Editor

August 3, 2011

2 Min Read
Honda Plummets to Seventh Place in U.S. Market

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Honda’s 25.7% July sales plunge dropped the auto maker to its lowest U.S.-market ranking in 30 years, according to Ward’s data.

July sales of Honda Civic lagged year-ago by 37.1%.

Honda’s core brand and its Acura luxury marque recorded 80,502 deliveries for the month, down from like-2010’s 12,437 and June’s tally of 83,892. That knocked the auto maker to into seventh place behind Nissan and the combined sales of Korea-based Hyundai and Kia.

Nissan and Hyundai-Kia accounted for deliveries of 84,601 and 105,065, respectively, in July.

Long a fixture in the so-called Big Six auto makers – along with General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler and Nissan – Honda has not occupied seventh place in the monthly U.S. sales race since it fell behind Volkswagen in October 1981, according to Ward’s.

Accounting for 7.6% of the U.S. light-vehicle market, July also marked Honda’s weakest performance on the share front since matching that total in June 2005.

Honda sales dip below Nissan, Hyundai-Kia.

The auto maker suffered double-digit declines on both the car and light-truck sides of its business. Honda car sales totaled 42,321 for the month, marking a 28.1% nosedive, while its truck tally plummeted 22.7% to 38,181, compared with like-2010.

The bleak numbers bear all the hallmarks of the inventory woes that have plagued Honda and its Japan-based counterparts since the island nation was rocked by an earthquake in March.

The temblor also triggered a devastating tsunami and contributed to power outages that disrupted production at vehicle-assembly and components plants.

Sales of the Honda Accord midsize car fell 24.1% on 16,831 deliveries, while Civic sales slumped even further – down 37.1% on 13,695 deliveries.

Honda’s truck-side volume flagship, the CR-V cross/utility vehicle, recorded 13,943 deliveries, 27.8% fewer than like-2010.

The lone Honda nameplate in positive sales territory was the Pilot CUV. Its sales climbed 8% on 9,954, according to Ward’s.

Through July, Honda sales were tracking 2.6% below year-ago levels with 687,944 deliveries.

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About the Author

Eric Mayne

Senior Editor, WardsAuto

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