Honda Accord Production to Idle Temporarily Amid Slow Sales

We love the next-generation Honda Accord that went on sale last October. But as we’ve learned in recent weeks, it’s not selling very well, and dealers are asking Honda for help moving the sedans off the lot. Now, we’re hearing Honda will idle production of the Accord in spurts over the next few months in Marysville, Ohio.

According to Automotive News, Honda is telling its workers in Marysville to take two days off per month from April to June. Honda will also extend its planned summer shutdown in July by five days, making it a total of 11 days where Honda will idle production for the Accord. As an alternative to not working, employees can choose to work jobs not related to production on those 11 days. A Honda spokesman told AN, “This is just really business as usual and we’re adjusting production down to match the market condition at this moment.”

As consumers are starting to favor crossovers over sedans, it’s no wonder the Accord is experiencing a slump. This February, Honda sold 50,178 copies of the CR-V crossover but just 37,430 Accords. On March 1, Honda had a 104-day supply of Accords, which is quite high compared to the industry average of about 70 days. And it’s particularly high by Honda’s standards.

Honda typically steers clear of incentives, but we’ll see if the automaker makes any more moves to cut down on inventory. Earlier this month, Honda told us it’s “pleased with the growing market share and top transaction prices that the all-new 2018 Honda Accord  is garnering in its segment,” but that it plans to “work collaboratively with [its] dealer partners…to ensure the overall value proposition with each of our products is competitive in the marketplace.” It’s unclear exactly what this means for Honda’s sales strategy in the future, but we hope the Accord eventually gets its due recognition in the marketplace.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

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