Despite an auto market that is down more than 10 percent this year, Honda has been able to buck the downward trend and has actually seen a sales growth of just over 1 percent so far this year. Because of this fact, Honda’s gloomy outlook on the future should have other automakers shaking in their tires.
At the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit, John Mendel, Honda’s head U.S. sales exec, revealed that the Japanese automaker is bracing for the worst in the wake of the recent Wall Street fallout. Mendel says that Honda is expecting a U.S. volume between 13.8 million and 14 million units in 2008, but that volume could dwindle to as low as 13.5 million units in 2009.
Moreover, the market hangover could linger into 2010, pushing back the domestic automakers return to profitability – which is starting to sound like a broken record.
However, despite the less-than-optimistic outlook, Honda has left itself in a rather safe place. Because it is not fully exposed to the collapsing truck and SUV markets, Mendel expects a modest sales gain in 2009. “We’re still looking at a slight increase at least initially in 2009. We have new vehicles coming on,” he told Automotive News. “Given any kind of stability in trucks, we should be able to eke out a little increase in 2009.”
Highly-efficient vehicles like the all-new Fit and Insight hybrid — which will hit the market in late 2008 and early 2009 — should rally Honda sales through 2009, even if gas prices return to record highs.
