2012 Honda Accord Ex on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Subaru and Honda set all-time single-month U.S. sales records in August

While the U.S. and Japan continue to hash out the details for a new trade deal, American customers showed just how much they love Japanese automobiles. Both Honda America and Subaru of America exceeded expectations in August and set all-time sales records for units moved in a single month. The booming business was led, in part, by the Honda CR-V and Subaru Crosstrek, both of which posted their best sales months ever.  For Subaru, August 2019 marked the best sales month in company history and a claimed 93 straight months of yearly, month-over-month growth. Subaru sold 70,039 vehicles, which beats the December 2018 record of 64,541 vehicles. Top sellers were the Outback (17,110), the Forester (17,076), and the Crosstrek (15,860). The Ascent notably saw a 72.8 percent increase in sales compared to August 2018 with 7,319 sold.  Honda America, which includes Honda and Acura, sold 173,993 total vehicles, 158,804 of which were Hondas. That's up from 147,903 total sales in August 2018. Honda achieved these numbers with strong sales across its lineup, despite the less consumer interest in sedans in general. In August 2019, Honda sold 44,235 CR-Vs (the most ever in a single month) 14,381 Pilots, 10,190 Odysseys, 34,808 Civics, and 30,558 Accords. Acura's SUVs continue to be the company's best-sellers with 5,976 MDXs sold and 5,459 RDXs moved.  By the Numbers Earnings/Financials Honda Subaru Car Buying Crossover Sedan sales subaru crosstrek

Honda slowing US production due to ports dispute

The labor dispute that idled 29 ports on the West Coast last the weekend, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, is about to make its effects felt on the showroom floor, according to Reuters. Honda, Toyota and Subaru have been trying to work around the labor disagreement, cutting overtime and airlifting parts to factories, but Honda says parts shortages at plants in Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, Canada, are now severe enough to impede production. The lack of transmissions and some electronic components will slow output of the Honda Accord, Civic, and CR-V – as well as unnamed Acuras. The three affected factories will rework their production schedules from Feb. 16-23. The ports have reopened this week, and US Labor Secretary Tom Perez has flown to San Francisco to mediate a new agreement between the 20,000 dockworkers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the terminals and shipping companies. Talks have been going on for almost nine months and the issues aren't settled; meanwhile, the West Coast ports that handle half the nation's maritime cargo and 70 percent of cargo from Asia are putting all kinds of industries on the ropes, and it's estimated to cost the economy $2 billion a day. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Acura Honda Crossover Sedan

Profit at Honda doubles on strong global sales of cars and motorcycles

TOKYO — Honda reported Wednesday that its April-June profit more than doubled on healthy sales of its motorcycles and cars, as the Japanese company also received a perk from favorable exchange rates. Honda Motor Co. said its fiscal first quarter profit totaled 363 billion yen ($2.5 billion), up from 149 billion yen. Quarterly sales jumped 21% to 4.6 trillion yen ($32 billion). HondaÂ’s financial service division also reported growing sales. Honda said its profitability improved, especially in North America, where production recovered. Automakers around the world were slammed by supply shortages because of production delays related to social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But such restrictions have eased, allowing production to pick up again. Auto sales were about the same in Japan in the latest quarter as in the previous year, while dropping significantly in China because of intense competition from makers of battery electric vehicles, Honda said. Honda is banking on growth in EVs in the U.S. market, where it recently announced it is joining six other companies in the creation of a high-powered charging network across North America. Worries about climate change have helped set off a dramatic shift in the auto industry toward battery electric vehicles, allowing for relative newcomers like Tesla and BYD to prosper, while catching some Japanese makers off guard with their hybrids and regular gasoline-powered models. Honda said a computer chip shortage crimped its motorcycle sales in India, while sales rebounded in Indonesia as production recovered. Honda said it sold 901,000 vehicles in the latest quarter, up from 815,000 a year earlier. It also sold more motorcycles worldwide at nearly 4.5 million, up from 4.2 million. Honda added 23 billion yen ($160 million) to its quarterly operating profit because of the impact of currency exchange rates. A weaker yen, trading lately at about 143 yen to the U.S. dollar, is a boon for Japanese exporters by boosting the amount of its overseas earnings when converted into yen. Honda stuck to its full year projection of an 800 billion yen ($5.6 billion) profit, up from 651 billion yen a year earlier. Honda shares slipped 0.9% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Related video: Earnings/Financials Acura Honda