Honda Struggling to sell Insight

Despite very good gains by Ford, Hyundai and GM, Honda is struggling overall this Jan.

January Whacks Toyota, But Sales Firm for Other Makers - Auto Observer

in January Honda moved just 1,307 of a vehicle initially projected to easily sell in the 7,500-per-month range. Unless gasoline prices balloon again sometime this year, the unloved Insight may have trouble hitting a quarter of the sales volume Honda envisioned.

Accord broke out to a fine 35.6-percent gain that amounted to 20,759 units sold. The Civic held its ground with a 12.1-percent improvement, too. But Honda has to be wondering what's going on with the once-hot Fit subcompact, sales of which have waned in recent months and dipped a fearsome 38.4 percent in January. The month is not known as one of the industry's strongest, but even in that context, the Fit's decline must be causing furrowed brows from Ohio to California to Tokyo.
The same can be inferred for the Insight hybrid; in January Honda moved just 1,307 of a vehicle initially projected to easily sell in the 7,500-per-month range. Unless gasoline prices balloon again sometime this year, the unloved Insight may have trouble hitting a quarter of the sales volume Honda envisioned.
The truck side of the business did not begin the year auspiciously, either. Every Honda-brand light truck was down for the month, led by the 33.4-percent slide for the Ridgeline, to a barely-breathing 738 units. The hoary Element trailed Ridgeline by two sales in January, a 30.8-percent slide. And even the dependable CR-V dropped a meddlesome 20.3 percent, while the blocky Pilot dropped 21.1 percent to sales of 4,865.