Honda’s Success Proves Buyers Want, Need Flexibility

Honda has long been the brand of dependability, reliability and quality. This year it led all automotive companies in an Axios Harris Poll 100 that ranking the reputations of companies most on the minds of Americans.

Honda has built on those three brand tentpoles and is now adding another: flexibility.

American Honda (parent company of the Honda and Acura brands) just hit 1 million units sold for 2024. They were one month earlier to that mark than they were in 2023, with sales up almost 9 percent year over year when many brands are seeing sales slowdowns.

Amid market hesitancy, American Honda had the company’s all-time best quarter for battery-electric and hybrid models this year. The company introduced the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX this year, and debuted the new Honda Civic Hybrid. This is on top of the Honda CR-V and Accord, both of which already come with electrified powertrains.

Hybrid models of the Civic, Accord and CR-V represent more than 25 percent of Honda brand sales, the company said.

“Honda’s current portfolio is actually very well built-out with just the right number of eclectic offerings. There seems to be something for everyone. The growing line of TrailSport trims on the brand’s crossovers caters to the rugged adventurous buyer, while budget-minded shoppers have access to value-packed vehicles. Enthusiasts can still row their own gears in the Civic Si and Type R. And, the recently refreshed Odyssey continues to be the go-to choice for families smartly gravitating toward minivans,” Robby DeGraff, manager, product and consumer insights at AutoPacific told Newsweek.

While its model lineup is diverse, and becoming more so with the new, more rugged Honda Passport on the horizon, the company maintains that its success is really about the flexibility to adapt to a future that is moving at an uncertain pace toward full electrification.

The company is still committed to the goal of 100-percent zero-emissions auto sales by 2040, but its path will include a balanced mix of powertrains until then.

“Hybrid-electric models have been a part of our Honda electrification strategy from the beginning. Many Honda customers see hybrids as a pathway to electrification, and an opportunity to achieve higher fuel efficiency, but through a more affordable and approachable electrified powertrain option for those not ready to transition all the way to EVs. This has led to strong demand from customers for our hybrid models,” a Honda spokesperson told Newsweek.

Even as Honda begins sales of full-electric vehicles like the Prologue, it still believes hybrid-electric models will have an important role to play for years to come.

“I think where Honda is really winning is in alternative powertrains … I think more consumers are waking up and catching on to the reality that Honda has built itself a decades-long reputation upon proven reliability and safety, efficient hybrids, and delivering some driving fun, all without breaking the bank,” said DeGraff.

Honda’s flexibility pertains not just to its multitudes of powertrains, but also its prices. The automaker’s two gateway models, Civic and HR-V, both start around $25,000 USD.

Its bread and butter CR-V is perennially one of the top-selling SUVs. It starts just over $30,000 and Honda is integrated the hybrid version into its grade level strategy so that it’s not a costly premium over the gasoline-powered model.

The company’s flagship Pilot eight-passenger SUV is available fully equipped for more than $55,000. That price is only second to the company’s expensive Prologue Elite when purchased outright.

Honda also touts its dedicated dealer body as part of its keys to success. It sees the relationship that dealers and their employees have with customers will becoming even more important during the switch to new technologies and powertrains.

“We see our Honda dealers as a competitive advantage as we initiate EV sales, especially in providing a national service network. We are investing in extensive hands-on training with our sales consultants and service technicians to prepare for EV sales and to successfully operate in a digital retailing environment,” the spokesperson said.

Ownership goes beyond new cars for Honda. The company’s robust second- and third-hand used vehicles are viewed as a gateway into the Honda and Acura brands.Honda has expanded its certified pre-owned (CPO) program to give customers a more affordable way to enter the brand. Its Honda True Used program expands the benefits of a certified pre-owned vehicle to 6–10-year-old models.