Actually a positive July result when considering the number of selling days. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Aug. 1, 2017 2017 Honda Civic EX with the 174 hp and 162 lb-ft. of torque direct injected and turbo charged 1.5L mated to the CVT retails for $23,175 incl. the $875 D&H charge, It offers owners a segment leading 32/42 mpg city/highway rating as well. The Civic EX with the 1.5T can be found for just over $2k off on the East coast and Midwest. In car crazy California, new owners are paying MSRP+! All according to TrueCar. When other compacts are selling for 25 percent of their MSRP or more, Honda has certainly found the golden ticket when it comes to the white hot 10th gen Civic. 2017 Honda Civic Sedan Honda June 2017 Sales Overview During July, Honda sold 150,980 Honda and Acura vehicles, down 1.2 percent on a volume basis compared with the 152,799 it sold in July of 2016. On a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis, sales were actually up 2.8 percent since there were only 25 selling days in July of 2017 vs. 26 in July of 2016. Honda in its own experienced a sales falloff of 1.7 percent on sales of 136,803. In a swimming against the industry’s tide revelation, Honda’s cars achieved sales volume increases of 2.8 percent with 72,557 vehicles sold in July while Honda trucks were down 6.2 percent on sales of 64,246 vehicles. Acura sales were up 3.7 percent in July on sales of 14,177 vehicles. YTD sales of 942,866 vehicles was off 0.2 percent from the 945,154 sold through the same period of 2016. Like the monthly DSR sales, on a DSR basis, YTD sales were also up 0.3 percent. Both the Civic and Accord achieved > 30,000 vehicle sales in July. In particular, the Civic achieved a new July sales record of 36,683 vehicles, up 11.3 percent over the 32,952 sold in July of 2016. On a DSR basis, sales were up 15.8 percent. YTD sales of 212,446 were down 4.6 percent vs. the 222,792 sold through the same period of 2016. HR-V also achieved a new all-time monthly sales record on sales of 9,779, up 32.3 percent over the 7,394 sold in July of 2016. YTD sales of 56,407 is up 28.7 percent over the 43,837 sold during the same period of 2016. U.S. Automobile July 2017 vs. July 2016 Market Share results July 2017 Market Share items of note: GM lost 1.6 percent which went entirely to Toyota. FCA was down 0.5 percent, Honda was up 0.6 percent, Hyundai was down 1.1 percent, and Subaru was up 0.5 percent. These large Market Share swings over just a one-year period is significant in a mature industry that has been around for over 100 years. What it describes is the American new car buyer continues to trust Japanese brands more than any other despite what I consider lesser offerings across numerous model categories. Once again, another down month. Remember that 3 consecutive months of lower U.S. GDP is called a recession. July was the second consecutive month of lower sales volumes and the fifth lower sales month of seven YTD. 2017 U.S. Monthly Auto Industry Sales Totals (Hyperlinked) January 2017 (+.01 million): 1.14 million vs 1.13 million sold in January of 2016 February 2017 (-.01 million): 1.32 million vs 1.33 million sold in February of 2016 March 2017 (-.05 million): 1.54 million vs 1.59 million sold in March of 2016 April 2017 (-.06 million): 1.44 million vs. 1.50 million sold in April of 2016 May 2017 (+.06 million): 1.52 million vs. 1.46 million sold in May of 2016 June 2017 (-.06 million): 1.46 million vs. 1.51 million sold in June of 2016 July 2017 (-.11 million): 1.41 million vs. 1.52 million sold in June of 2016 From the June 2017 Sales reports, the first half of 2017 saw U.S. YTD sales of 8.43 million, down 1.9 percent from the 8.59 million sold through the first half of 2016 YTD. July 2017 U.S. Automotive industry sales of 1.41 million was down a steep 7.2 percent vs. the 1.52 million sold in July of 2016. On a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis, sales are off a less onerous 3.5 percent given there were only 25 selling days in July of 2017 vs. 26 in July of 2016. The beginning of the second half however shows more red ink than I was expecting. The RAV4 is now the #1 selling CUV in the U.S. It even outsold Ram pickups which had recently held the number two and last month the number three spot. The well received, powerful, and even more efficient Civic continues to astound as it is now the hottest selling sedan in the country. Rogue fell from 4th back to 6th while the CR-V re-entered the Top 10 after falling shy last month. The Accord and Corolla fell from 8th and 6th to 9th and 10th respectively, anchoring the July Top 10 U.S. Auto Sales results. July 2017 U.S. B and C-Segment Sales Top 10 Highlights and Totals B-segment items of note: Fit is gaining its past glory moving back to number 2 while Sonic moved back to mediocrity over the past year. Accent is experiencing the largest falloff over the past three months. Moving to the C-segment, Civic. That is all. July 2017 U.S. D and Utility Segment Top 10 Sales Highlights and Totals D-segment items of note: Camry moves back ahead of Accord with the all-new 2018s imminent arrival. Red-ink is predominating across the majority of models. And Utility's? The RAV4 was shot out of a cannon! July 2017 U.S. Pickup Truck Segment Top 10 Sales Highlights and Totals Pickup Truck segment items of note: Not a big deal but GMs 4 pickups combined outsell Ford's F-Series. Some of that has to do with Sierra moving ahead of Tacoma and Colorado moving ahead of Tundra. The final note is the Ridgeline dropped out of the Top 10 with Canyon outselling it and taking the number 10 spot. July 2017 U.S. Electrified Segment Top 10 Sales Highlights and Totals Electrified Hybrid segment items of note: Ford Fusion hybrid sales fell from #1 to #4 in July. Accord Hybrid continues to hold its place while sales have improved mightily. And the all-new 2018 Accord Hybrid is just months away. Highlander also had a good month. Regarding the plug-ins, the Volt fell two spots with a significant downturn in July sales. Like the Fusion HEV, the Energi and the i3 experienced sharp sales declines. U.S. June 2017 Sales vs. June 2016 Sales Ranks and Results for the top 18 Automobile Manufacturers (Hyperlinked) GM U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 15.4% with 226,107 Vehicles Sold Toyota U.S. July Sales Up 3.6% with 222,057 Vehicles Sold Ford U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 7.5% with 200,212 Vehicles Sold FCA U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 10.1% with 161,477 Vehicles Sold Honda U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 1.2 percent with 150,980 Vehicles Sold Nissan U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 3.2% with 128,295 Vehicles Sold Kia U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 5.9% with 56,403 Vehicles Sold Subaru U.S. July 2017 Sales Up 6.9% with 55,703 Vehicles Sold Hyundai U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 27.9% with 54,063 Vehicles Sold VW U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 5.8% with 27,091 Vehicles Sold Mazda U.S, July 2017 Sales Down 3.0% with 27,089 Vehicles Sold Mercedes-Benz July 2017 Sales Down 10.7% with 28,849 Vehicles Sold BMW U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 13.7% with 26,363 Vehicles Sold Audi U.S. July 2017 Sales Up 2.5% with 18,824 Vehicles Sold Jaguar/Land Rover U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 4.1% with 9,081 Vehicles Sold Mitsubishi U.S. July 2017 Sales Up 1.7% with 8,025 Vehicles Sold Volvo U.S. July 2017 Sales Down 18.8% with 6,967 Vehicles Sold Porsche U.S. July 2017 Sales Up 0.8% with 4,516 Vehicles Sold
So the Civic is Honda's top seller last Jun despite frustrating thousands of potential 6MT hatch buyers with no product. The type-R is going for absurd premiums over the reasonable $33,900 MSRP so Civic sales would be even stronger if production could meet demand. I would have thought that the Fit and HR-V would both outsell the Accord. Shows what I know.
Hi Jay: Honda's MBAs are probably controlling supply pretty closely to maximize Corporate income knowing they have a real winner on their hands. Pricey in my mind as you have seen my write-ups on it but there is no doubt it is by far the most powerful and efficient C-Segment offering available in the U.S. and earns those volumes because of it. It was the number one selling sedan/hatch in the U.S. last month! To see both the Civic and Accord at 30k/month volumes - #1 compact and #1 midsize - when it appears the U.S. consumer is chasing CUVs is another item I am more than happy to report. Regarding the Fit/HR-V vs Accord, are you talking about the Accord Hybrid only? Wayne
No. I'm talking about the regular Accord. Its sales are much stronger than I thought they would be especially since the Civic is kinda encroaching on the Accord's space; size and performance wise.
If customers don't actually try the Fit, they have no idea how usable and capable it is. From the outside it's a tiny little thing, but inside is a different story. You just don't know that if you dismiss it at first glance. Then there's the whole Want vs Need thing. People want the bigger and better thing. Then there's the perceived poverty / loser stigma to a small hatchback. People don't want to be *that guy* with the "poor people's car". They all need to get over themselves and take a look inside themselves and inside the car.
I test drove the Fit about 2 years ago. I like the size, shape, and looks of the car. I really didn't like the CVT. The 5MT (and now 6MT) top gear ratio is... well let's just say it's no good for somebody that does >90% highway miles. The road-going gas mileage of the civic hatch is better than the Fit (according to the epa). Sales of the Fit might be constrained by production shortfall. I understand they're made in Celaya, MX on the same assembly line as the HR-V so they have to shut down Fit production to make the HR-V.
Hi Jay: I would pay little heed to a shortage now that the Celaya plant is up and running. It had a poor start back in 2014 but the growing pains have surely been overcome. The plant is capable of building 200,000 cars a year, taking Honda’s annual production capacity in Mexico, including Guadalajara, to 263,000 units. However, it made only around 83,000 in 2014. Honda would not allow a plant of that size and investment to run at 30 percent cap for any length of time. Wayne
