Honda Domestic Sales and Global Production on Rise in October
Tokyo, Japan, Nov 25, 2005 - (JCN Newswire)Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced production, domestic sales, and export results for the month of October.
Production
Domestic production for the month of October decreased 5.8% compared to the same month a year ago due to a decline in export shipments -- the fourth consecutive month for a decline in domestic production compared to the same month a year ago.
Overseas production in October increased 7.1%, due largely to production increases in North America, where the second line of the Alabama plant has reached full capacity. It is the third consecutive month since August 2005, for an increase in overseas production compared to the same month a year ago.
Worldwide production in October increased 2.1% due to the increased overseas production. It is the third consecutive month for an increase over the same month a year ago.
Domestic Sales
Total domestic sales, including import cars, reached 53,791 units for the month of October, up 5.7% compared to the same month a year ago, due to strong sales in both the mini-vehicle and passenger car and light truck categories. It is the second consecutive month for domestic sales to exceed the same month a year ago. Sales of passenger cars and light trucks (including import models) exceeded the same month a year ago for the second consecutive month. It is the first time in two months for sales of mini-vehicles to exceed the same month a year ago.
Contributing to the increase in overall sales among the passenger car & light truck category were the all-new StepWGN (7,326 units, the sixth best selling car in the market), which underwent a full model change in May, and the new Airwave (5,055 units, the 14th best selling car in the market), which was introduced in April. In the mini-vehicle category, Life (10,247 units, the 3rd best selling mini vehicle in the market) contributed positively to overall sales with the launch of a minor model change in October.
Exports
Total exports in October of 39,424 units, were down 12.7% compared to the same month a year ago -- the third consecutive monthly decline compared to the same month a year ago.
The decrease was due primarily to the fact that exports to North America in October last year experienced a large increase following the full model change of the Acura RL (known as Legend in Japan) and the start of production of the new model year version of the Acura TSX (known as Accord in Japan). Exports to Europe declined after the start-up of exports of Jazz (known as Fit in Japan) from a new Honda plant in China, which began in May 2005.
About Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (LSE: HNDA.L) is one of the leading manufacturers of automobiles and power products and the largest manufacture of motorcycles in the world. Honda has always sought to provide genuine satisfaction to people worldwide. The result is more than 120 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries worldwide, producing a wide range of products, including motorcycles, ATVs, generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment and automobiles that bring the company into contact with over 19 million customers annually. For more information, please visit http://world.honda.com.
