Jan. 13, 2014 - Columbus Business First
A resurgent market for trucks and sport-utility vehicles doesn’t have Honda Motor Co. straying from its path.
“No one does small cars like Honda,†sales boss John Mendel told the crowd Monday at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Honda portfolio doesn’t get much smaller than the 2015 Fit subcompact, a little car with big expectations in the U.S. and abroad. The newest Fit is its third generation and will be the first built in North America when the manufacturer’s newest plant starts up in Mexico next month.
It isn’t a booming market, Mendel said after the event, estimating that it grew by 5 percent last year with a similar result expected this year.
“It’s not explosive, but it’s steady,†he said.
It’s a segment the company knows well and that plays to its strengths. When Honda began selling in the U.S., it did so with a subcompact.
It’s also a segment the company has not kept up with as much as it could have due to a lack of product to supply, but bringing production here will address that, Mendel said.
Honda isn’t offering a sales projection for the Fit, but Mendel said he would expect it to at least exceed the 2012 sales of 53,513. The 8.4 percent year-over-year gain in Fit sales outpaced the segment.
The 2015 Fit is even smaller than its preceding version, coming in 57 pounds lighter and 1.5 inches shorter. Interior space, however, has grown between iterations.
Mendel said the key improvements make the car more functional and fuel-efficient with a combined street-highway rating of 36 miles per gallon.
Some details remain unshared, including pricing and the street date – late spring, Mendel said after the presentation.
The 2015 Fit will be the first of a one-two small car punch from Honda this year. A compact SUV will hit the market later in the year. A concept version of that vehicle, dubbed the Urban at the time, which also will be made in Mexico was Honda’s big announcement at last year’s auto show.