"The auto show season kicked off in earnest this week in Los Angeles, accompanied by a host of top industry awards and accolades. We were honored to collect more than our fair share, including Motor Trend SUV of the Year for CR-V; seven KBB.com 2018 Best Buy awards, including overall top honors for Accord; Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year for the Clarity series, and an unprecedented 32nd Car and Driver 10Best for Accord, which was joined on the list by the Civic (Hatchback, Si and Type R).
Accord also earned “Best Car to Buy” recognition from the Car Connection, while the consulting group Strategic Vision said its analysis showed Odyssey as the minivan most loved by consumers. So, we also were thrilled to learn that both the new Odyssey and Accord are finalists for North American Car and Utility of the Year. Heck, the Honda Advanced Design Studio and its partner Trigger were even chosen as the winner of the "Judges' Pick" award at this year's Design & Developer Challenge presented by Microsoft. Quite a week!
Our efforts to deliver products that advance the Clean, Safe, Fun and Connected values of Honda are paying dividends in the marketplace as well. As the industry is tracking toward its first sales decline since 2009, the Honda brand is headed for a fourth consecutive year of record sales, with Civic and Accord on pace to claim retail leadership as the #1 and #2 cars in America for the second year in a row. We also see continued gains for our truck line-up, which is on its way to its third straight year of record sales, including a record year for HR-V and CR-V’s sixth straight year of record sales.
Importantly, we’re growing sales with a total focus on individual customers with the lowest incentive spending among full-line brands, which speaks to the fundamental strength of the Honda brand and the products we’re delivering. We’ve got lots of reasons to be thankful this holiday season, and we look forward to the year ahead, which will see more new additions to the Honda lineup as we continue to pursue steady, sustainable growth."
Sincerely,
Ray Mikiciuk
Assistant Vice President, Honda Division
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.