Honda joins other automakers in reporting sales slip

Honda sales fell 5 percent in February compared to the prior year, with the redesigned Accord doing especially poorly in a difficult month for the entire auto industry.

The automaker reported sales of 115,557 units for the month, down 5 percent from a year ago. Year-to-date sales are down 3.5 percent.

The Accord, which is assembled in Marysville, has a new design and strong reviews, but its sales were down 16 percent, with 19,753 units sold.

On the positive side, the Pilot SUV was up 49 percent, with 12,056 units sold.

Acura, Honda’s luxury brand, reported that sales rose 1 percent, helped by gains for the ILX and TLX sedans, both of which are assembled in Ohio.

“As supplies of our lighttruck offerings continue to grow, we’ve maintained a strong sales pace, notably with sharp increases to Pilot and HR-V,” Henio Arcangeli Jr., general manager of the Honda brand, said in a statement.

He added that the company is “selling every CR-V we can build,” which is an apparent reference to recent difficulties in keeping up with demand for the model. The CR-V was the brand’s topseller last month with 25,852 units, but sales were down 19 percent compared with the same month last year.

Honda’s performance is in line with that of its major competitors, such as Ford and General Motors, whose sales also were down.

“Market softness spread beyond cars in February to other segments of the market,” Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Autotrader, said in a statement.

“Trucks did not have a spectacular month, despite some hefty incentives, and utility performance varied by brand. Still, January and February are low sales months. March and April will truly indicate whether vehicle sales are ready to come out of hibernation.”

Auto sales had been expected to tail off in February as automakers eased up on discounts.

Auto forecasting firm LMC Automotive predicted a 2 percent drop from last February. Among major automakers, only Toyota, Subaru and Volkswagen reported sales gains over last February.

Ford’s U.S. sales chief Mark LaNeve said automakers spent an average of $65 less per vehicle on incentives in February compared to the same month last year. That’s a stark contrast from 2017, when incentive spending was often climbing $300 or $400 per month.

LaNeve said discounts could grow during the spring and summer, when tax returns arrive and more people shop for vehicles. But based on the first two months of this year, he expects automakers to remain fairly disciplined. In the past, heavy discounting has led to overproduction and steep declines in automakers’ profits.

A look at some major automakers’ results:

General Motors Co. sales fell just under 7 percent to 220,905. Sales were dragged down by the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, GM’s top-selling vehicle. Silverado sales were off more than 16 percent from a year ago.

Ford Motor Co. sales also fell 7 percent to 194,132. Ford said its car and SUV sales were down but sales of the F-Series pickup — its biggest seller — inched up 3.5 percent. Ford brand sales were down 6 percent, while luxury Lincoln sales plummeted 23 percent.

Toyota Motor Corp. sales rose 4.5 percent to 182,195 vehicles. Sales of its top-seller, the Camry sedan, jumped 12 percent as an updated version went on sale. Luxury Lexus sales also rose 5 percent.

Fiat Chrysler’s sales fell 1 percent to 165,903. Jeep brand sales jumped 12 percent and Alfa Romeo sales were also up, but Ram truck sales fell 14 percent because of a drop in fleet buyers. Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat sales also fell on low consumer demand for cars.