Honda Motor Co.’s U.S. sales rebounded in March, after a February dip and a January gain, with the company posting its best month since July 2021.
Honda and Acura sales combined to top 116,000 vehicles in March. Honda division sales hit 103,000 units, up 8.8 percent, led by strong sales of electrified vehicles and revamped light trucks. Acura, with 13,500 vehicles sold for a 2.6 percent increase, saw its best month since August 2021.
In the first quarter, American Honda sales rose 6.8 percent compared with the same period last year, to 284,607 vehicles. The Honda brand saw a 5.4 percent increase, while Acura was up 18.5 percent.
The company has been battered by the global shortage of microchips, most of them sourced from inland China, and has told dealers inventories won’t fully recover until the fall.
Notable nameplates: Honda Accord, down 6.2%; Civic, up 67%; HR-V, down 34%; CR-V, up 3.8%; Ridgeline, up 52%; Acura TLX, down 9.7%; MDX, down 5.1%; RDX, down 18%
Incentives: $1,349 per vehicle, down 23%, according to TrueCar.
Average transaction price: $38,506, up 1.8%, according to TrueCar.
Fleet: TrueCar estimates Honda’s fleet sales, which are mostly commercial, totaled 1,167, down 70 percent.
Inventory: Honda, approximately 38,000; Acura, approximately 22,000.
Quote: “The strength of our all-new products is becoming clear as our inventory grows. Record sales of our electrified Honda CR-V and Accord and the best sales month yet for the all-new Acura Integra delivered our best first quarter in two years. We expect this positive momentum to continue throughout the year as sales of SUVs and hybrid-electric models lead us toward our electrified future.” — Mamadou Diallo, senior vice president of auto sales, American Honda Motor Co.
Did you know? Honda’s new CR-V logged 30,000 sales for the first time since July 2021, while the new Pilot and HR-V each topped 10,000 units.