Honda Says Better Light-Truck Supply Should Reverse Share Loss

DETROIT – A top American Honda official says the automaker should see an improvement in its U.S. market share this year as it works to increase its supply of light trucks.

“We tend to struggle with market share in boom years, particularly (in areas) we’re not particularly strong in like light trucks,” John Mendel, executive vice president-American Honda, tells WardsAuto here in an interview this week.

Honda’s U.S. share slumped from 9.4% in 2014 to 9.1% in 2015, WardsAuto data shows.

It was a loss driven by the Honda brand, which saw its share of the U.S. light-vehicle sector fall to 8.1% in 2015 from 8.4% in 2014.

American Honda's light-truck share fell from 8.0% in 2014 to 7.8% in 2015. The Detroit Three automakers dominate the U.S. light-truck sector, commanding share of 17.4% (FCA) to 21.8% (General Motors) last year.

Acura maintained a 1.0% stake, although a brand spokeswoman says it too suffered from lack of supply of its MDX large CUV, ironically as American Honda tried to meet demand for the redesigned ’16 Honda Pilot large CUV.

WardsAuto inventory data shows MDX days’ supply at 36 in late December, below the light-truck industry average of 57 and down from 59 in late November.

Mendel says lack of capacity for light trucks will be rectified, although not entirely this year.

Dual-sourcing of the MDX from Honda’s East Liberty, OH, plant won’t occur until early 2017. American Honda builds the MDX alongside the Pilot at its Lincoln, AL, plant, where it soon will add builds of the second-generation Ridgeline pickup, revealed at the 2016 North American International Auto Show this week.

Supply of Honda’s Celaya, Mexico-built HR-V subcompact CUV, which launched last spring, should improve as the vehicle will enjoy a full year of production, he says.

“We don’t chase market share, but we’re predicting another record year this year regardless of what the industry does, (except) say going to 10 million or something like that,” Mendel says.

American Honda had its best U.S. volume in a calendar year, selling 1.587 million units in 2015. Overall U.S. light-vehicle sales tallied 17.37 million units.

Mendel sees buyers moving toward CUVs as a “bigger trend than it was a year ago…driven by exceptionally low fuel prices. I don’t know how permanent it is.”

Hybrid Possible for MDX

For those not yet moved toward CUVs despite low gas prices, Mendel says a hybrid version of the MDX is “an interesting idea.

“While we don’t have any plans to hybridize everything in our lineup, the expansion of hybrid to other vehicles is certainly a possibility,” the American Honda exec says.

WardsAuto product-cycle data shows such a model is on tap for the brand.

Despite the seemingly insatiable appetite by Americans for CUVs, Acura is not yet ready to introduce a version of the HR-V for the U.S., both Mendel and Acura officials say.

Such a vehicle is planned for China, where it will debut at this spring’s Beijing auto show.

“It’s indicative of their market for 25- to 35- (year-olds)…and I think we can look at that and (study to) see how it would resonate in the U.S. market,” Acura Global Creative Director Dave Marek tells select media during NAIAS.

Marek says the Acura subcompact CUV for China will introduce design elements seen on Acura’s NAIAS Precision concept car.

Meanwhile, new Acura General Manager Jon Ikeda is looking for his brand to grow this year, thanks to the better MDX supply, more marketing of its car lineup and the hoped-for halo effect from the soon-to-be-introduced NSX supercar.

“I came on the job 100 days ago so if we don’t have an increase they’re going to blame it on me,” he jokes, adding he expects another incremental increase for the brand.

Acura sales grew 5.6% last year to 177,165 units.

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