Official release from acuranews.com:
All-New Accord and Civic Drive Sharp Honda Monthly and Annual Sales Gains; ILX and RDX Fuel Acura Jump; American Honda Posts Best Annual Sales Result Since 2008
Honda Division annual sales up 23 percent, Acura annual sales up 26 percent
01/03/2013 – TORRANCE, Calif.
Buoyed by strong December 2012 U.S. sales of 132,774 units, an increase of 26.2 percent compared with December 2011, American Honda posted annual vehicle sales of 1,422,785 units in 2012, up 24.0 percent compared with 2011. This makes 2012 American Honda’s fourth-best sales year ever, and its best sales result since 2008.
Acura
Acura U.S. December sales of 16,034 units represents an increase of 22.1 percent over December 2011. The Acura Division’s year-end sales totaled 156,216, up 26.7 percent compared with 2011 results – and the brand’s best sales results since 2007. The MDX led the division with annual sales of 50,854, followed by the TL with sales of 33,572 and the RDX with sales of 29,520.
• RDX sets its eighth-consecutive monthly sales record, up 155 percent from a year ago with 4,024 sales – setting monthly sales records in each month since going on sale in May 2012
• MDX was the top selling Acura model in December, with 5,069 sales, up 10 percent from 2011
• ILX is top selling Acura sedan in December with 2,485 sales
“December was another month of tremendous sales growth fueled by our newest products, the Acura ILX luxury compact sedan and the RDX crossover SUV,” said Jeff Conrad, vice president of Acura Sales, “Acura is primed for even more success in 2013, with the upcoming launch of the brand’s flagship RLX sedan and the unveiling of the 2014 MDX Prototype at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.”
The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 26 days for December 2012 and 27 days for December 2011. Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 307 days for 2012 and 307 days for 2011. All other percentages in release are unadjusted; see table for adjusted DSR figures.
| American Acura Vehicle Sales For December 2012 | ||||||
| Month-to-Date | Year-to-Date | |||||
| December | December | DSR** | December | December | DSR** | |
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | |
| Acura Division Total | 16,034 | 13,129 | 26.8% | 156,216 | 123,299 | 26.7% |
| TL | 2,246 | 3,283 | -29.0% | 33,572 | 31,237 | 7.5% |
| TSX | 2,142 | 3,546 | -37.3% | 28,865 | 30,935 | -6.7% |
| Memo: TSX Wagon | 414 | 295 | 45.7% | 4,234 | 3,210 | 31.9% |
| ILX | 2,485 | 0 | 0.0% | 12,251 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Memo: ILX Hybrid | 119 | 0 | 0.0% | 972 | 0 | 0.0% |
| RL | 18 | 50 | -62.6% | 379 | 1,096 | -65.4% |
| MDX | 5,069 | 4,588 | 14.7% | 50,854 | 43,271 | 17.5% |
| ZDX | 50 | 86 | -39.6% | 775 | 1,564 | -50.4% |
| RDX | 4,024 | 1,576 | 165.2% | 29,520 | 15,196 | 94.3% |
| Selling Days | 26 | 27 | 307 | 307 | ||
| * Honda and Acura vehicles are made of domestic & global sourced parts. ** Daily Selling Rate | ||||||
[Source: Acura]
These strong sales figures must be why it felt like I had no leverage to put a great deal together during the final few days of the year, usually a great time to buy a car. At least there is still a great finance offer.
Acura is finally headed in the right direction, though it has taken them around 5 years to start turning around. In 2003 they made the mistake of discontinuing the Cl and Cl type S, just when they got it perfect by adding a 6 speed manual, a lot of people thought it was the best looking Acura, it was probably the second best looking next to the NSX. Then they got rid of the NSX and the RSX in around 2006, what a mistake for a division that is supposed to be a performance luxury brand. Then they got rid of the type S TL in 2008, which was their last good looking performance car, and now they only have 4 door sedans and SUVs. Then they made the biggest design mistake in automotive history, with the beak , mad clown smirk, turtle face, beaver tooth, chicken head front grill design. The front grills were fine on the Acuras before that, don’t fix it , if it ain’t broke. Then, the design chief admits is was a mistake, and that they got negative feedback from a lot of directions,but that everyone has to get used to it, because, it is here to stay. Then they came out with the ZDX. What were they thinking? That yhing looks like something designed by someone just out of design school, probably a girl. I’m surprised they sell any of those at all, and it is priced way to high.
But now they have started to fix some things, The new Ilx is the best new Acura in a while, the beak is a little bit better on it than the other cars. They should have that grill availble in gloss black or body colour paint, if they insist on keeping it. They did that on some Civics, and it is a lot better, the chrome is just too much, and way out of date. The beak was the worst on the 2009 TL, too bad because the 2008 and older models were nicely designed. In 2012, they improved it a bit, but look on line at some of the custom grills and the grills that have been painted. The new rlx looks better, but it should be available with a V8. The NSX is highly anticipated, but should be available both as a hybrid and non-hybrid. Don’t make the mistake they made with the CRZ. They need to bring back some coupes, and the TL and the TSX designs need to be freshened up, painting the beaks would be a step in the right direction, or just new grills.
Anyways, congratulations to Acura on their strong sales figures, and keep listening to your customers like me, I also have a masters degree in design from NYU.