Honda’s global vehicle production totalled 319,063 units in September, a year-on-year rise of 0.2%, and the nine consecutive monthly rise, although this disguised a 3.6% decline in domestic production, the first such decline in ten months, to 72,200 units.
In contrast, output outside Japan rose 1.4% to 246,863, a record high for the month of September and the eighth consecutive monthly increase. Record production for September was recorded in North America, where output totalled 124,627 units, a 4.4% year-on-year gain, and output in Europe increased 6.5% to 13,708. In contrast, production in Asia overall fell 9.0% to 94,676, including a 20.7% fall in China to 50,735 units.
The September totals took group global production in the first half of the current fiscal year (April-September 2012; H1 FY2013) to 2,075,678, a rise of 68.6% and the first rise in two years, with domestic output up 64.2% at 483,184 and overseas output up 70.0% at 1,592,494. Production in North America in H1 FY2013 was 814,670, a year-on-year increase of 79.3% (US alone, +68.4%), while output in Europe was up 100.5% at 78,502. Increases were also seen in Asia (+52.8% to 609,896, including +29.5% in China to 349,795) and Others (+102.2% to 89,426).
Honda-brand domestic sales in September amounted to 53,367, a year-on-year fall of 3.9%, taking the fiscal year-to-date total to 363,842, a rise of 58.8%. The Fit was the industry’s fourth best-selling car among new vehicle registrations in September, with sales of 12,511. The Freed was the seventh best-selling model in the same month, with sales of 6,230 units. The same models took third and sixth places, respectively, in the first six months of FY2013, with sales of 101,683 and 48,805.
Total exports from Japan in September experienced a year-on-year decrease for the third consecutive month, declining 57.0% to 9,689, with exports to North America down 60.5% at 5,150 and shipments to Europe down 88.4% at 688. In contrast, exports to Asia rose 58.8% to 2,528. In the fiscal year-to-date period, exports were up 6.7% at 95,875, driven by a 177.0% gain in shipments to Asia (14,695), which more than offset declines to North America (-0.5%) and Europe (-41.7%).
