Honda on pace to become fourth largest automaker in U.S.

12/04/2009, 7:57 PM
By Mark Kleis

In a rough year for the ailing American automaker, the latest bad news comes in the form of an imminent bump from the fourth position for automotive sales in the US market. Toyota first bumped Chrysler from being part of the “Big Three” in 2006, but now it is Honda that is on pace to bump Chrysler down a spot.

So far this year Honda has sold 1.044 million vehicles in the US, compared to roughly 800,000 units by Chrysler.

There are no indicators or product changes from either company are likely to provide anything resembling a significant change in the lead in the remainder of this year.

By comparison, by this point last year Chrysler was still maintaining a year-to-date lead of 21,000 units over Honda, and finished strong with a 25,000 unit lead for the year. Analysts then predicted that Chrysler’s restructuring process would likely cost them their spot before the close of 2009.

Kathy Graham, a spokeswoman for Chrysler, said, “We are taking the steps that are necessary to have a good foundation and to build consumer confidence.”

Graham also said that Chrysler anticipates their recent increases in advertising spending will help restore higher sales volumes for the remainder of the year.

When asked about the significance of the change in ranking for the US market, executive vice president John Mendel for American Honda said they had no plans to celebrate or acknowledge the change.

Mendel said, “We only look at our sales and our objective. We may look at Civic and Corolla or Accord and Camry, but not at who ranks where.”

Source;
http://www.leftlanenews.com/honda-on-pace-to-become-fourth-largest-automaker-in-us.html