American Honda withstood a late-month polar vortex to post a 1.5 percent U.S. sales increase in January.
The automaker was led by gains from the Acura RDX and Honda CR-V, while the Accord got off to a stronger start than in 2018, when the redesigned model was still gaining its footing.
Honda's light trucks set a January sales record, the automaker said, rising 2.4 percent.
The Passport began arriving at dealerships in January. The Passport will fill a hole for consumers who wanted something bigger than the compact CR-V, but not as large as the three-row Pilot.
Honda also found that some customers were looking for a vehicle more rugged and capable than the CR-V. Honda is expecting to move 45,000 Passports this year.
Brands: Honda up 0.8%; Acura up 9.6%
Notable nameplates: Accord up 6.3%; Civic down 9.2%; Clarity up 49%; CR-V up 20%; Pilot down 26%; RDX up 41%; ILX up 23%
Incentives: $2,132 per vehicle, up 21% from a year earlier, ALG said.
Average transaction price: $28,281, up 0.5% from a year earlier, according to ALG.
Quote: "Our Honda and Acura dealers delivered a strong January and have put us on course for a fast start in 2019, despite extreme weather conditions throughout much of the country during the last week of the month," said Henio Arcangeli Jr., senior vice president of the American Honda Automobile Division, in a statement. "While solid sales of our light-truck offerings continue, our balanced results across other segments of our business further showcase real consumer demand beyond trucks and SUVs."
Did you know? Civic finished 2018 as America's top retail-selling car and is the best-selling vehicle among U.S. millennials, multicultural consumers and first-time new vehicle buyers.
