American Honda December Sales Up 15.6 Percent

TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- American Honda Motor Co., Inc., today reported December monthly sales of 107,143, an increase of 15.6 percent on a daily selling-rate* basis. American Honda's 2009 annual vehicle sales totaled 1,150,784, a decline of 19.5 percent compared to 2008 results.

Honda Division's December monthly sales of 96,568 represented an increase of 18.9 percent compared to 2008. Honda Division's 2009 annual sales of 1,045,061 decreased 18.6 percent compared to 2008. The top-three best-selling Honda models for 2009 were the Accord, 290,056; Civic, 259,722; and CR-V, 191,214.

Accord monthly sales increased 17.3 percent for December to 28,238. Monthly Civic sales increased by 19.8 percent to 22,319. The CR-V, the country's best-selling SUV in 2008 and 2009, increased sales by 24.5 percent to 18,686 for a new December sales record. Additional models with monthly sales gains included the Pilot, up 26.6 percent to 9,184, and the Odyssey, up 19.8 percent to 8,966.

"The good news is that the market appears to be stabilizing and we have more reasons for optimism in 2010," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel; let's hope it's not another train coming, but rather, brighter days ahead."

The Acura Division's year-end sales totaled 105,723, down 26.8 percent. December Acura sales totaled 10,575, down 8.1 percent. The TL led the division with annual sales of 33,620, followed closely by the MDX with sales of 31,178.

December TSX sales increased 17.9 percent to 2,926. December RDX sales increased 4.4 percent to 1,283. The much-anticipated Acura ZDX four-door sports coupe made its sales debut in the second half of the month.

*The annual Daily Selling Rate (DSR) is calculated with 308 days for 2009 and 2008. December 2009 included 28 selling days versus 26 selling days for 2008. All percentages represent DSR.

For more information or downloadable high-resolution images of Honda and Acura vehicles, please visit Hondanews.com for Honda and Acuranews.com for Acura. Consumer information is available at Honda.com for Honda and Acura.com for Acura.

                     American Honda Vehicle Sales For December 2009

                         Month-to-Date                  Year-to-Date
                  December  December     DSR**  December  December     DSR**
                    2009      2008      % Chg.    2009      2008      % Chg.
                    ----      ----      ------    ----      ----      ------
    American
     Honda
     Total         107,143    86,085     15.6% 1,150,784 1,428,765    -19.5%
     -----
      Total
       Car
       Sales        61,020    50,918     11.3%   700,214   877,703    -20.2%
      Total
       Truck
       Sales        46,123    35,167     21.8%   450,570   551,062    -18.2%
         Honda
          Total
          Car
          Sales     54,706    44,762     13.5%   635,901   794,421    -20.0%
         Honda
          Total
          Truck
          Sales     41,862    30,643     26.9%   409,160   489,840    -16.5%
         Acura
          Total
          Car
          Sales      6,314     6,156     -4.8%    64,313    83,282    -22.8%
         Acura
          Total
          Truck
          Sales      4,261     4,524    -12.5%    41,410    61,222    -32.4%
    Domestic
     Car Sales *    51,010    40,642     16.5%   551,357   661,736    -16.7%
     -----------
      Honda
       Division     47,843    37,035     20.0%   517,737   614,970    -15.8%
      Acura
       Division      3,167     3,607    -18.5%    33,620    46,766    -28.1%
    Domestic
     Truck Sales *  44,660    30,629     35.4%   412,787   444,263     -7.1%
     -------------
      Honda
       Division     40,399    26,105     43.7%   371,377   383,041     -3.0%
      Acura
       Division      4,261     4,524    -12.5%    41,410    61,222    -32.4%
    Import
     Car Sales      10,010    10,276     -9.5%   148,857   215,967    -31.1%
     ---------
      Honda
       Division      6,863     7,727    -17.5%   118,164   179,451    -34.2%
      Acura
       Division      3,147     2,549     14.6%    30,693    36,516    -15.9%
    Import
     Truck Sales     1,463     4,538    -70.1%    37,783   106,799    -64.6%
     -----------
      Honda
       Division      1,463     4,538    -70.1%    37,783   106,799    -64.6%
       --------      -----     -----    ------    ------   -------    ------
    MODEL BREAKOUTS
     BY DIVISION
    Honda
     Division
     Total          96,568    75,405     18.9% 1,045,061 1,284,261    -18.6%
     -----          ------    ------     ----- --------- ---------    ------
       Fit           4,570     5,039    -15.8%    67,315    79,794    -15.6%
      Accord *      28,238    22,348     17.3%   290,056   372,789    -22.2%
        Memo:
         Accord
         Hybrid          0         1                   1       198    -99.5%
        Memo:
         Accord
         Cross-
         tour***     2,079         0               2,564         0
      Civic *       22,319    17,302     19.8%   259,722   339,289    -23.5%
        Memo:
         Civic
         Hybrid        471     1,036    -57.8%    15,119    31,297    -51.7%
      S2000             19        72    -75.5%       795     2,538    -68.7%
      Insight        1,639         0              20,572         0
      FCX                0         0                   0         6
      FCX Clarity        0         1                   5         5      0.0%
      -----------      ---       ---                 ---       ---      ----
      Odyssey  *     8,966     6,950     19.8%   100,133   135,493    -26.1%
      Pilot *        9,184     6,735     26.6%    83,901    96,746    -13.3%
      CR-V *        18,686    13,933     24.5%   191,214   197,279     -3.1%
      Element *      1,426     1,336     -0.9%    14,884    26,447    -43.7%
      Ridgeline      1,521     1,689    -16.4%    16,464    33,875    -51.4%
      ---------      -----     -----    ------    ------    ------    ------
    Acura
     Division
     Total          10,575    10,680     -8.1%   105,723   144,504    -26.8%
     -----          ------    ------     -----   -------   -------    ------
      RSX                0         0                   0         1
      TL *           3,167     3,607    -18.5%    33,620    46,766    -28.1%
      TSX            2,926     2,304     17.9%    28,650    31,998    -10.5%
      RL               221       245    -16.2%     2,043     4,517    -54.8%
      --               ---       ---    ------     -----     -----    ------
      MDX *          2,899     3,383    -20.4%    31,178    45,377    -31.3%
      ZDX *             79         0                  79         0
      RDX *          1,283     1,141      4.4%    10,153    15,845    -35.9%
      ---            -----     -----      ----    ------    ------    ------
    Selling Days        28        26                 308       308


    *  Honda and Acura vehicles are made of domestic & global sourced parts.
    Accord includes Crosstour, Hybrid.
    **  Daily Selling Rate
    *** Accord Crosstour sales are recorded in Honda total truck sales and
    Honda domestic truck sales.

SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc.