Honda expects 2012 will be a far better year than 2011, Tetsuo Iwamura, president and CEO of American Honda said today.
In the U.S., the company is targeting a 23.5% sales increase for its Honda brand in 2012 and a 40% sales increase for Acura.
Iwamura said the sales gains will be fueled by the new cars and trucks it plans to introduce for both brands as well as the company’s full recovery from inventory problems it faced in 2011.
“It looks quite high jump, but because of the availability problem, we had a really low year this year,” Iwamura said today. “To us, it is a natural growth.”
Honda has battled this year with parts shortages caused by an earthquake and tsunami in March and flooding in Thailand this fall that hampered suppliers.
The company’s U.S. market share has declined to 9% for the first 11 months of this year compared with 10.5% for the same period in 2010.
And while luxury brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac have grown this year, Acura has seen its sales fall 6.7% for the first 11 months of the year.
Iwamura said he is confident Honda will regain its lost market share because of the new cars it will launch and a recently launched Civic compact sedan and CR-V crossover SUV.
Honda, he said, expects 70% of its sales for the 2013 model year will come from redesigned models.
Several of those important new vehicles will be revealed in January at the 2012 North American International Auto Show.
Acura will reveal three new cars or crossovers — including the long-awaited successor to its legendary NSX sports car — on Jan. 9.
Honda will reveal a concept version of its next-generation Honda Accord Coupe on Tuesday, Jan. 10. The Accord midsize sedan is Honda’s best-selling vehicle.
“We just completed…dealer shows,” said John Mendel, executive vice president at American Honda. “Our message, on Acura … was, it’s our time…now is our time to shine.”
On Honda, Mendel said, “our message to our dealers was ‘full speed ahead.’”
Still, Honda acknowledged today that its inventory may not be back to normal levels until the end of March.
Honda, which also has been criticized for the bland redesign of the Honda Civic, has no plans to adopt a new design direction, Iwamura said.
Honda’s design philosophy is to build cars that serve customers needs, rather than eye-catching looks.
“This is the reason why Honda has been accepted a lot in the past by the customers and created a strong brand and we don’t have any intention to switch our design principle,” Iwamura said. “We do not just follow the fashion.”
Iwamura also declined to comment specifically on any redesign plans in the works for the Civic. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Honda told its dealers that the company is rushing to restyle the car’s front and rear ends, make its interior more plush and luxurious, and boost its fuel economy.
“When we talk about the new models — not necessarily the Civic — we try to upgrade various factors of the products,” Iwamura said. “So that’s what we are trying to do — upgrade the products.”
Source: freep.com
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