American Honda Reports Record Breaking August Sales - GreenHybrid

lars-ss · #1 (**permalink**) 09-01-2005, 12:54 PM

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050901/lath071.html?.v=23

4,146 HCHs sold in August 2005 versus 1,816 in August 2004 !!

I suspected as much - was waiting for the first Google alert on the August Sales !!

WOO-HOO !! Go-Go Hybrids !!!

Schwa · #2 (**permalink**) 09-01-2005, 01:17 PM

More data on general hybrid sales: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005...rid_sales.html

9,850 Prius Sales!

Hot_Georgia_2004 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-01-2005, 01:26 PM

All I gotta say is....
YES!!

Romir · #4 (**permalink**) 09-01-2005, 02:12 PM

Pretty good numbers for the Civic. When the 06 model comes out, it should do better than its predecessor. It's extremely nice to see some sales for 40+ mpg Hondas again.

As horrible as the Insight sales are, they're at least holding up better than last years. If Honda produced enough cars, they'll probably top last years total sales and end the 50% yearly decline.

With better Honda hybrid sales, maybe they'll end up giving the Insight 2 a go ahead, or at least offer the upcoming Fit as a hybrid at launch. Some buzz about the hybrid trim could help them vs. the two upcoming Toyota Echo replacements.

9,850 Prius sales is almost 10% of the Toyota badge sales! If only they could produce more, these cars will really help the US fleet average for years to come. I'm seeing more of these on the road every week. A lot of commuters in my rural area seem to be buying them up. They're much more common here than in the closest cities.

lars-ss · #5 (**permalink**) 09-01-2005, 02:25 PM

Honda does not really WANT to sell very many Insights.....Rumour has it that they cost more to build than they sell for. No one at Honda has really ever said they make money on the Insight. A nasty rumour a few years ago said the Insights cost $30,000 to build. That might have been close to true for year 1 or 2, but I bet they got their costs down quickly. If they lose money on them now, I bet it's not much, and they probably make it up with service costs.

Romir · #6 (**permalink**) 09-01-2005, 03:25 PM

Which is why I'm hoping for a Fit hybrid sooner than later. With the newer IMA technology they can probably get the mileage near Insight levels in a car that costs a whole lot less to produce. It'd be a more practical car and should command a decent profit margin. Honda most likely can't get hybrid production up fast enough to justify selling a Fit Hybrid at too low of a price.

For example. their diesel engine is in limited production in Japan only. They can only make so many right now so it doesn't make sense to fit the Civic with one. It's a very premium option that gets 35mpg in the CRV and 45mpg in the Accord.

I've jokingly told a domestic buyer that my car is more patriotic than his because it negatively cost Honda multiples of the amount of profit his car gave to Ford.

azwildbill2 · #7 (**permalink**) 09-01-2005, 06:23 PM

I'm glad Honda is selling their Hybrids. There is so much discussion about the Prius, many people who see my car are shocked to find out it is a Hybrid and they didn't know Honda made them.

The more Hybrids on the road - the more development that will occur and help lower pollution and our dependence on imported oil. Hopefully one day the gas engine will just be there to "charge the battery".