Looks like Honda is milking what it can from its very profitable small sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment.
Because many customers are now realizing that they can get by with something a little smaller and lot more fuel efficient than big SUVs like the Tahoe and Expedition, small SUV and crossover sales in the U.S. grew 15.2 percent through April to 893,441, while mid-size and large SUV sales fell 8.8 percent to 564,417 (according to Autodata Corp.)
In fact, according to a report by Bloomberg Honda Motor Co. is now seeking to boost supplies of its CR-V following a sales spurt that propelled the small sport-utility vehicle past Ford's Explorer to become the top-selling SUV in the U.S.
During the 1990s and into the first part of this decade the Ford Explorer dominated SUV sales charts with sales of 445,157 in 2000. In the last couple of years, however, Explorer sales have dropped from first to fourth on the sales charts. Last year, sales dived to 179,229 and it doesn’t look like there’s anything to stop the bleeding. This year, the numbers are down another twenty-three percent.
Compared to the seemingly dismal future of the Ford Explorer, things are definitely looking up for Honda as sales of the redesigned Honda CR-V are up forty-two percent so far this year. Not only that, the Honda CR-V has also jumped to the number one spot on the chart, followed by the Toyota RAV-4 and Ford Escape, with the new Ford Edge coming on strong as well. All are built on car chassis.
Now for the first time, Japan’s second-largest automaker has started importing extra units from Japan to supplement the main production facility in East Liberty Ohio.
Honda ``hit the market with pinpoint accuracy with the new CR-V in terms of design, styling, powertrain and fuel economy,'' said Michael Robinet, an industry analyst at CSM Worldwide Inc. in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
The CR-V is 15 inches shorter than the Explorer, 2 inches narrower and about 1,000 pounds lighter. The Honda averages 26.3 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving; the Explorer gets 17.5. Add to that -- the CR-V is also priced less, with a base model ranging from $20,600 to $26,000, depending on options such as two-wheel- or four-wheel-drive. The Explorer's base price ranges from $25,995 to $32,400.
If the current pace holds, CR-V sales may exceed 180,000 this year, Honda spokesman Sage Marie said. That would be 13 percent more than Honda had planned and a record for an SUV made by an import brand.
Since March, Honda's East Liberty plant has built an average of 180 CR-Vs a day. It also assembles Element wagons and Civic cars, as well as other Honda Civic performance parts.
Honda also announced plans in March to assemble 50,000 CR-Vs a year in El Salto, Mexico, from kits made at East Liberty. Mexican production starts in September, Honda's Marie said. Half of the plant's output is to be sold in Mexico, with the rest destined for other Latin American markets and the U.S.
CR-Vs stay on a dealer's lot an average of just 12 days, compared with 28 days for a RAV4 and 68 days for Ford's Escape, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
Because many customers are now realizing that they can get by with something a little smaller and lot more fuel efficient than big SUVs like the Tahoe and Expedition, small SUV and crossover sales in the U.S. grew 15.2 percent through April to 893,441, while mid-size and large SUV sales fell 8.8 percent to 564,417 (according to Autodata Corp.)
In fact, according to a report by Bloomberg Honda Motor Co. is now seeking to boost supplies of its CR-V following a sales spurt that propelled the small sport-utility vehicle past Ford's Explorer to become the top-selling SUV in the U.S.
During the 1990s and into the first part of this decade the Ford Explorer dominated SUV sales charts with sales of 445,157 in 2000. In the last couple of years, however, Explorer sales have dropped from first to fourth on the sales charts. Last year, sales dived to 179,229 and it doesn’t look like there’s anything to stop the bleeding. This year, the numbers are down another twenty-three percent.
Compared to the seemingly dismal future of the Ford Explorer, things are definitely looking up for Honda as sales of the redesigned Honda CR-V are up forty-two percent so far this year. Not only that, the Honda CR-V has also jumped to the number one spot on the chart, followed by the Toyota RAV-4 and Ford Escape, with the new Ford Edge coming on strong as well. All are built on car chassis.
Now for the first time, Japan’s second-largest automaker has started importing extra units from Japan to supplement the main production facility in East Liberty Ohio.
Honda ``hit the market with pinpoint accuracy with the new CR-V in terms of design, styling, powertrain and fuel economy,'' said Michael Robinet, an industry analyst at CSM Worldwide Inc. in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
The CR-V is 15 inches shorter than the Explorer, 2 inches narrower and about 1,000 pounds lighter. The Honda averages 26.3 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving; the Explorer gets 17.5. Add to that -- the CR-V is also priced less, with a base model ranging from $20,600 to $26,000, depending on options such as two-wheel- or four-wheel-drive. The Explorer's base price ranges from $25,995 to $32,400.
If the current pace holds, CR-V sales may exceed 180,000 this year, Honda spokesman Sage Marie said. That would be 13 percent more than Honda had planned and a record for an SUV made by an import brand.
Since March, Honda's East Liberty plant has built an average of 180 CR-Vs a day. It also assembles Element wagons and Civic cars, as well as other Honda Civic performance parts.
Honda also announced plans in March to assemble 50,000 CR-Vs a year in El Salto, Mexico, from kits made at East Liberty. Mexican production starts in September, Honda's Marie said. Half of the plant's output is to be sold in Mexico, with the rest destined for other Latin American markets and the U.S.
CR-Vs stay on a dealer's lot an average of just 12 days, compared with 28 days for a RAV4 and 68 days for Ford's Escape, according to J.D. Power and Associates.