Aiming for 6 Million Units in 2017

Having emerged from the slump of the year before last, 2012 proved to be a highly fruitful year for Honda in the North American market. Sales were strong, with the three core models – Civic, Accord, and CR-V – ranking among the top 10 best-selling vehicles. The Civic received a significant update last autumn, while the Accord and CR-V have just debuted. It appears highly likely that this momentum will be maintained this year.

Honda's world premiere at the show was the "Urban SUV Concept." This is a prototype compact SUV targeting younger customers, roughly aged 23 to 37, often categorized as Generation Y.

With a body length of 4.3 meters, it is slightly smaller than the CR-V. While the styling, incorporating a coupe-like design, isn't groundbreakingly novel, it seems to possess considerable appeal.



This "Urban SUV Concept" is part of Honda's global compact car strategy. This global compact car lineup, which includes the next-generation Fit, is planned to achieve annual sales of 1.5 million units by 2016, approximately double the current figure. The production version of the "Urban SUV Concept" is slated to be manufactured at a new plant in Mexico, scheduled to commence operations next spring.

Leveraging this significant momentum, Honda aims for global sales of 6 million units in 2017. This was the declaration made by Honda President Takanobu Ito at the press conference.