Honda Increasing Production but Won't Attach Number

Honda Increasing Production but Won't Attach Number

By Bill Visnic August 25, 2009

Reports from Japan earlier this month indicated Honda Motor Co. Ltd. -- like other automakers with models that proved popular in the just-ended Cash for Clunkers new-vehicle rebate program -- is planning to increase production to replenish starved U.S. inventories.

But a Honda spokesman told AutoObserver today the company won't detail the amount of its production increase.

"We're not attaching figures yet to our production," said the Honda spokesman, adding that the company doesn't expect to forecast production for the remainder of the year.

Despite the success of the Cash for Clunkers program in which Honda's Civic, CR-V and Accord were among the top-selling vehicles purchased by buyers trading in clunkers, the spokesman said Honda is sticking with its 2009 sales forecast that projects an approximate 10 percent decline compared with 2008, when Honda (and its Acura upscale division) sold 1,428,765 units in the U.S. -- its lowest figure since 2004.

Several automakers recently announced they were adding production in the wake of the Cash for Clunkers program. Ford Motor Co. said it is adding 85,000 units of production through the end of the year. General Motors Co. is adding 60,000 units. And Chrysler Group LLC said it would increase production of Ram pickups, although it also did not disclose exact figures.

Whatever the actual number of Honda's production increase, North American factories will be blessed with the bulk of the work: Honda expects North American-built models to account for 80 percent of the Hondas and Acuras sold domestically this year. -- Bill Visnic

Civic compact car was one of the most popular models in the just-finished Cash for Clunkers program. (Courtesy of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.).

Bill Visnic:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter