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Dive Brief:
- Honda Motor Co. sold nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024, a 28.6% year-over-year increase, according to the company’s earnings presentation Wednesday.
- The automaker attributed the sales increase to steady demand in the U.S., increased vehicle production in Japan and larger inventories.
- Honda raised its full-year financial guidance for FY 2024. The automaker expects to earn about 960 billion yen ($6.4 billion) in net profits, a 4.2% increase from its earlier estimate of 930 billion yen.
Dive Insight:
Several automakers set sales records in 2023 as supply chain woes — including semiconductor shortages — subsided, inventories recovered and car companies capitalized on pent-up demand for new vehicles.
U.S. auto sales reached about 15.5 million units in 2023, an 11.6% jump from 13.9 million vehicles sold in 2022, Cox Automotive estimates. Honda, meanwhile, sold about 433,000 cars in the U.S. last quarter, up 36.2% year over year.
Stronger consumer incentives also fueled the jump in U.S. car sales in 2023, according to Cox Automotive. The research firm calculated Honda discounts averaged $1,646 per vehicle, rising 65% from their all-time lows the year before. However, those incentives were well below the industry average of $2,511 per vehicle.
Despite offering lower discounts, Honda overperformed the market in the quarter, Cox Automotive said. The automaker grew its market share to nearly 8.7%, up from about 7.1% a year earlier.
