Civic posts December 2015 sales gain of 29.4%

[administrator]

American Honda has posted its December 2015 and overall 2015 annual sales report, showing that the Honda Civic sold 32,796 units in December, representing a 29.4% increase over the same month last year:

• Total combined annual Honda & Acura vehicle sales eclipse previous record set in 2007 with a 3.0 percent gain over 2014
• Honda Division records its best-ever year in 2015, gaining 2.6 percent
• Total Honda & Acura trucks set new all-time annual marks, up9.7 percent in 2015
• Honda CR-V maintains position atop SUV market with fourth straight annual record
• American Honda also sets all-time record for month of December

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported all-time record annual sales of 1,586,551 Honda and Acura vehicles for 2015, an increase of 3.0 percent to beat the previous record set in 2007. Honda and Acura truck sales also set a new annual record, gaining 9.7 percent on sales of 770,424. Honda Division sales topped last year`s record to set a new annual mark, rising 2.6 percent on sales of 1,409,386 units. Acura sales totaled 177,165, a 5.6 percent increase for the year and the division's best result since 2007.

"What better way to celebrate the "Year of Honda" than with an all-time automobile sales record," said John Mendel, executive vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We are grateful to our customers who embraced our entire product lineup and are the true power behind the Honda brand."

Honda
The Honda Division maintained its strong momentum through the end of 2015, grabbing both annual and December all-time records for the second straight year. Core models CR-V, Civic and Accord all finished strong, with CR-V setting a new annual mark, while the Pilot and Odyssey continued to flex sales muscle. The addition of the HR-V to the lineup also helped push the division to new annual heights.

• CR-V set a new all-time annual record, gaining 3.2 percent on sales of 345,647 as it maintains its position as best-selling SUV in America.
• Core models CR-V, Accord and Civic combined for over 1-million in sales for the third straight year.
• In addition to the new annual record, Honda Division sales set a new combined car & truck December mark of 134,070 units, rising 12.2 percent for the month.
• Both cars and trucks set individual December records as well. Car sales were up 13.3 percent on sales of 72,839 units, while trucks gained 11.0 percent with sales of 61,681 vehicles.

"While we are excited about the all-time sales record, we continue to have incredible momentum driven by the relentless cadence of new and successful products we introduced in 2015 that will give the Honda brand tremendous energy going into the new year," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. "With a similar pace of new products coming this year, we're anticipating a very robust 2016."

Acura
The Acura Division enjoyed its best sales year since 2007, with strong performances from both sedans and trucks. The updated RDX set a new record and MDX recorded another year of sales over 50,000, despite limited inventory in last quarter of the year. Sedans also played a key role, with the TLX leading the way to take a larger share of the mid-luxury sedan segment.

• One of the hottest players in a hot luxury SUV segment, the Acura RDX set an all-time annual sales record, climbing 13.7 percent on sales of 51,026 vehicles.
• MDX exceeded 50,000 sales for the fourth straight year and continues to be the best-selling luxury three-row SUV in America.
• TLX sales of 47,080 and a stronger performance from ILX as the gateway to the sedan lineup helped boost Acura sedan sales more than 18 percent in 2015.
• Acura enjoyed a fourth consecutive year of sales growth in 2015 with 177,165 vehicles sold, gaining 5.6 percent for the year.
• Acura truck sales exceeded 100,000 for the second straight year.

"The Acura brand continues on its steady march, now four years strong— with both our sales and brand power gaining increasing momentum with both trucks and sedans," said Jon Ikeda, vice president and general manager of the Acura division. "Importantly for our future, Acura sedans continue to gain strength – which will be our critical focus in the next phase of our strategic plan."

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[Mannyp93]

Very interesting when you see some of the cars that do not sell very well at all. Like the clairty and insight. Hondas bread and butter is without a doubt the Accord, Civic and CR-V i think the HRV may eventually get up there too.

 

[RobbJK88]

Very interesting when you see some of the cars that do not sell very well at all. Like the clairty and insight. Hondas bread and butter is without a doubt the Accord, Civic and CR-V i think the HRV may eventually get up there too.

I think, if honda ever gets around to it, the HRV would do better (not that it does badly now) with either the new 2.0L from the base civics, or even the 1.5T from the upper trims. (or both as options). The only real complaints i've heard about the HRV is that the old 1.8L just can't haul the car around as well as some of the main competition and sounds raspy and labored under heavy throttle. I think a small bump in power from the 2.0 or 1.5T would do wonders and thrust the HRV above it's growing competition.

The insight is going away, so no surprise it's not selling, they can't have that many left on lots to sell, and the clarity is only offered in like one or two states as it is, and it's lease only.

 

[Mannyp93]

I think, if honda ever gets around to it, the HRV would do better (not that it does badly now) with either the new 2.0L from the base civics, or even the 1.5T from the upper trims. (or both as options). The only real complaints i've heard about the HRV is that the old 1.8L just can't haul the car around as well as some of the main competition and sounds raspy and labored under heavy throttle. I think a small bump in power from the 2.0 or 1.5T would do wonders and thrust the HRV above it's growing competition.

The insight is going away, so no surprise it's not selling, they can't have that many left on lots to sell, and the clarity is only offered in like one or two states as it is, and it's lease only.

Ahh the R18's. It does great pulling around the civics but the added weight of the HRV plus it's occupants must really make that motor rev. I think they should have a 2.0L or Turbo AWD HRV option like you mentioned. It's probably a matter of time i think in 2018 Hondas engine lineup is going to look nothing like what we have now.

 

[RobbJK88]

Ahh the R18's. It does great pulling around the civics but the added weight of the HRV plus it's occupants must really make that motor rev. I think they should have a 2.0L or Turbo AWD HRV option like you mentioned. It's probably a matter of time i think in 2018 Hondas engine lineup is going to look nothing like what we have now.

I agree. Once Honda has the time to move (almost) every car over to the new scaling platform the new civics ride on and start implementing all the new engines their entire lineup will look, and perform, much better.

We already know the accord, civic, CRZ, and CRV will share the new platform. It's not hard to imagine them using it for the next gen Fit and HRV. Couple the new platform with the new Earth Dreams engines and turbo engine lineup and it makes their best selling cars better, and will help to boost sales for slower selling models that in essence are good as is, but could use the improved dynamics and performance of the new engine/platform combination.

 

[CdnColin]

We love our HRV but would upgrade in a heartbeat if it had the new Civic's engines.

 

[ph0bolus]

Is this a good or bad thing in terms of pricing for the civic?

 

[jk147]

I am surprised that fit is doing kind of terrible. I remember it was pretty popular when it first came out.

 

[RobbJK88]

I am surprised that fit is doing kind of terrible. I remember it was pretty popular when it first came out.

I think overall the subcompact market is suffering right now because of low gas prices. A better indicator of the Fit's success would be comparing it to other subcompacts like the Sonic, Versa, etc.

 

[civicryan]

interesting info. good to see honda rocking and rolling. .... thanks for sharing.

 

[Razer]

The Fits problem is not that it is not selling, it is that they cannot make enough. The plant that makes the HRV also makes the Fit, they could not really support the Fit sales before the HRV launched and then the HRV took off in sales and they could not make it either and lots were empty of both for half the year. Sales would easily have doubled if the cars were available. Fits are now coming from Japan to help fill the void, and it is still slim pickings.

Nationwide 7347 Fits on the ground.

Nationwide only 4316 HR-Vs on the ground!!!

Honda Civics on the other hand, 41,169 available.

Accord? 48,764.

Having them available really helps that is for sure. Within 100 miles of me there are only 41 HR-Vs but 713 Accords. 790 Civics vs 82 Fits. I hope they get the production issues sorted out as Honda is on fire right now. It will be hard to keep getting bigger numbers if the factory's cannot output more cars. I am very happy to see the sales heading up though as the bean counters at Honda can see that the right decisions have been made in upping the quality and content in Hondas and the customers will come if you build a more compelling vehicle. Good job Honda!

 

[jk147]

The Fits problem is not that it is not selling, it is that they cannot make enough. The plant that makes the HRV also makes the Fit, they could not really support the Fit sales before the HRV launched and then the HRV took off in sales and they could not make it either and lots were empty of both for half the year. Sales would easily have doubled if the cars were available. Fits are now coming from Japan to help fill the void, and it is still slim pickings.

Nationwide 7347 Fits on the ground.

Nationwide only 4316 HR-Vs on the ground!!!

Honda Civics on the other hand, 41,169 available.

Accord? 48,764.

Having them available really helps that is for sure. Within 100 miles of me there are only 41 HR-Vs but 713 Accords. 790 Civics vs 82 Fits. I hope they get the production issues sorted out as Honda is on fire right now. It will be hard to keep getting bigger numbers if the factory's cannot output more cars. I am very happy to see the sales heading up though as the bean counters at Honda can see that the right decisions have been made in upping the quality and content in Hondas and the customers will come if you build a more compelling vehicle. Good job Honda!

That makes sense as well. I think Fit and HRV will really take off once they stick that 1.5L turbo across their entire line. CR-Z can be a beast if they replace that 1.5L with 1.5L turbo + electric motor. CR-Z Type R.

 

[HondaPro]

The economy is going up and the unemployment rate is going down. The cost of living is slightly dropping with cheaper gas and groceries. Sales over all increase when this happens. But also 1# Hondas in their classes help too.. I cant wait to see what Honda does next.

 

[RobbJK88]

That makes sense as well. I think Fit and HRV will really take off once they stick that 1.5L turbo across their entire line. CR-Z can be a beast if they replace that 1.5L with 1.5L turbo + electric motor. CR-Z Type R.

According to what i've read from honda in the recent year, the next gen CRZ will come on the same platform as the new civic, but it'll be roughly 8 inches shorter wheelbase than the civic. 2 engines would be offered. First a 1.5T hybrid setup potentially using a next gen IMA system (to save weight over the 2 motor system from the accord) and then the 2.0T without a hybrid setup borrowed from the Type R. This fills the void for people who have mentioned wanting a 3 door civic hatch (like the old EP3 civics) without honda having to make another civic variant (which they discontinued for the 9th gens in europe because of slow sales). Just hoping the price point is around the Si price point on the CRZ to make sure it stays relatively affordable as it'll basically become honda's entry level sports car below the S2000 replacement coming sometime in the future.

No doubt the Fit would benefit in a huge way by using the 1.5T in the next generation, probably with a lower boost psi from the turbo but with the civic making 158hp on the base, that leaves room for the Fit's performance to grow (140-145hp range would be perfect and class leading). I've always been a fan of a Fit Si, but i don't realistically see it happening, but with the 1.5T under the hood someone could tune it to be just that.

I don't see the Accord V6 going away just yet, Honda's V6s are some of the best on the market and don't lose much in the mpg compared to the small turbos used in the competitions cars, but a detune 2.0T to replace the current 2.4L would be ideal and could make both class leading mpg and power for a base engine.

 

[slowride]

The Fits problem is not that it is not selling, it is that they cannot make enough. The plant that makes the HRV also makes the Fit, they could not really support the Fit sales before the HRV launched and then the HRV took off in sales and they could not make it either and lots were empty of both for half the year. Sales would easily have doubled if the cars were available. Fits are now coming from Japan to help fill the void, and it is still slim pickings.

The dealer I buy from (more specifically the sales manager) is not very pleased with the supply problems that the HR-V has had. The problem with the segment, according to them, is that people just do not seem willing to wait when there are cars like the Kia Soul pouring out of the lots down the street.

I test drove the HR-V when it came out and I didn't really enjoy the motor personally, but the potential is certainly there if the 1.5T can make it under the hood. I do all of my test drives on an interstate loop that closely mimics my commute to work, and if I feel it will struggle, it gets crossed off. For mainly city driving, I would choose it I think.

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