Honda goes to 4th past Chrysler in August 2008 sales

Honda passed Chrysler last month for fourth place in U.S. auto sales this year, as high fuel prices pushed customers toward Honda’s small cars at the expense of the trucks and sport-utility vehicles that make up the core of Chrysler’s line. Honda, with year-to-date sales of 1,083,957 vehicles through August, exceeded Chrysler by just 7,787. “It’s a big move, but it’s not an unexpected move,” said George Magliano, the New York-based director of auto forecasting for consultancy Global Insight. He predicted that Honda will finish the year ahead of Chrysler and hold the lead for at least the next few years. “This is not something that’s going to go away,” he said, referring to the high fuel prices that have boosted Honda’s prospects. But David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., stops short of saying that Honda will remain ahead of Chrysler. “It doesn’t necessarily indicate a long-term trend,” Cole said. Overall, U.S. auto sales were down 16 percent for the month and down 8 percent for this year, according to the Automotive News Data Center. General Motors remained the top automaker, with 2.1 million vehicles sold through August, followed in order by Toyota and Ford. Honda managed to move up on the list despite a 7 percent drop in August sales compared with August of last year. The decline was a mere bump in the road compared with Chrysler’s 35 percent drop for the month. While Honda’s small cars continued their strong sales, the greatest percentage increase for the month was for the Pilot, an SUV, which was up 19 percent. Honda’s most popular model, the midsize Accord, dropped 8 percent. Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, said August sales were down because the company couldn’t build its small models fast enough to meet demand, while sales continues to lag for most of the larger models. “The demand has just far outstripped supply over the last 90 days or so, and we’re just starting to catch up,” he said about the company’s two smallest cars, the Civic and the Fit. Chrysler suffered sales declines almost across the board in August. One of the few bright spots was the Town & Country minivan, with sales up 15 percent. The Dodge Ram pickup, Chrysler’s most popular model, was down 23 percent. “The industry is changing rapidly in terms of what vehicles and features customers want and the leasing and financing options available to them,” said a statement from Jim Press, Chrysler vice chairman and president.

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