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Honda trims Fit production to meet Civic demand

Honda trims Fit production to meet Civic demand

Posted Apr 14th 2006 7:03PM

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It isn't even on sale in the U.S. yet, and Honda Motor Co. is already announcing that will cut sales expectations for the Fit subcompact by as much as 24 percent. The automaker states that unexpectedly high sales of its new Civic (which went on sale last year in Japan, Europe and the U.S.) is forcing the manufacturer to clear more space in its facilities.

Judging by what appears to be quite a bit of interest in the Fit based upon reader feedback and the enthusiastic reviews from the wider press, it will be fascinating to see how this all shakes out when the model goes on sale in America later this month.

[Source: Bloomberg News]

Category: Budget, Plants/Manufacturing, Honda

Tags: Civic, cutback, Fit, high sales, Honda

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CanukiJoe

Hi All,
lot of good points, i like honda not love it. Its turning a bit more expensive to my liking but even so there is not much competion out there. VW builds nice cars now but it will a decade before anyone trusts their quaility issues and service horrors. Honda not all are as good as touted by reviews but their bread and butter models are more Civics than Accords. With real world traffic conditions i prefer a dependable appliance, minmal not zero maintence intrevals and a hald decent resale value, i would go with the Honda. More Torque = More Fun = More Maintenance = More Fuel thanx i prefer to keep my money with me than get to know the gas bar attendent and the mechanics first names...
cheers cj

April 20 2006 at 3:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

ted

#12 Gale, Get a clue.

The Versa is hardly even Fit/Yaris competition. It is to fill in the gap created by Nissan give the Maxima SUV size/weight and fattening up every other car in line.

The Versa is just the new Sentra, complete with 1.8L engine. Despite your claims the base model no-option Versa will be extrodinarily poorly outfitted. Oh, and the MPG rating goes down every time I turn around.

If you think Nissan "scared" Honda out of this market segment, really, lay off the drugs. Honda is running with the hand that is hot, like any smart company would.

April 15 2006 at 11:54 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

ted

Ah, yes, the "New World" "Modern" VW has high quality. Yes, judge a quality turn-around on brand new cars.

#15, #16, you guys sound just like apologists for the american big 3! Have fun driving your cult-loved garbage cars. 8 years later the rest of us will still know that VW stinks, and maybe you'll join us.

April 15 2006 at 11:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Peter

I agree with Juan. Fit is ugly. Worse yet, it is ugly in that: "I am too cheap to buy a real car" way.

In reality the price is almost the same as the Civic. I want Cruise/Air/ABS as important options. I need Fit Sport to get this. While it the Civic LX gets it.

In Canada:
Civic LX: $20.4K
Fit Sport: $19.5K

Gas Mileage: l/100km

Fit: 7.3/5.8
Civic: 7.8/5.7.

So spend a little more you can get a civic that looks very sweet and not cheap ass. Gets pretty much the same fuel economy out of a bigger more powerful engine and has a bigger fuel tank for longer cruise range.

Honda, do me a favor abandon the Fit and bring over the Civic Hatch. I will buy one.
http://paultan.org/archives/2005/07/26/2006-honda-civic/

April 15 2006 at 12:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

jason

I can't stand the way that FIT looks. It looks like a little bug or something...yuck. I'm not too crazy about the Civic sedan's look either, but the coupe is absolutely gorgeous. And the Si's looks are to die for. Why get a FIT when you can get a bigger, more stylish Civic for not much more?

And I also like the Golf's look, too. I'm glad VW is doing well, and I hope that they do prosper. It will only bring more competition which is always better for us, the consumers.

April 15 2006 at 12:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

NotAWhiner

Hate all you want and keep your mind closed as tightly as you want - This new generation of VW so far has been very reliable and quality control is sharply up (based on Jetta and Passat).

The new Golf WILL BE the car to beat in this price category when it comes out. Unless you just have to get your new car right now, wait for a few months and check it out.

April 15 2006 at 11:25 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Richard Warren

#6 Of course it's going to cost 10,000 and the quality is sooo piss poor Yep you're right. That's why sales of VW worldwide and in the US are up?

Volkswagen achieved worldwide record sales in the first quarter of 2006. 795,000 vehicles were delivered to customers during the first three months of the year.

That happens to be the highest start-of-year figure in VW history and represents an increase of 108,000 vehicles or 15.7 percent compared with the prior-year samr period.

The majority of that led by that "ugly as sin Golf"

As for the Fit cut in production VS Civic, makes sense.

April 15 2006 at 9:59 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Howard Kerr

I really don't understand this. A few folks are saying that the Fit is a cheap and poorly made car. Yet, in roadtests by British car magazines (and you haven't seen Japan-bashers more rabid than British motoring writers) the things they all point out is it's great assembly quality and the interior quality.
Yes, the Fit is priced quite a bit above Korean cars like Chevy's Aveo. But the Aveo DOESN'T have STANDARD ABS and the '06 model (don't know about the '07) doesn't have stand side airbags. Hyundai and Kia do, I believe have these features, and are priced accordingly.
Honda hoped that the new Civic would be a success, but apparently they underestimated the huge sales it would generate in it's first year of this model. They are being smart to realize that it, the Civic, may be taking sales away from the Fit. I think more than the Versa or Yaris, the Civic (with it's HIGHER EPA estimated hiway mileage number) is the Fit's biggest competitor.

April 15 2006 at 9:19 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

brian Mita

Michael, I think you have a great point there. it's interesting, even if you outfit the base civic with a parity of features as the fit, that $2000 difference turns into 33-50 dollar difference on a 5 year term. I know that a lot of people will upgrade for more space and bigger engine for that small of a payment increase.

honda just priced the fit too high in it's line for it to become a market leader in the subcompact. if they moved it the price down so the difference between the fit and base, non outfitted civic from 700 to about 1500 they'd probably see more fit sales. then again, they'd also see less profit from those gains in the fit sales.

this is a pretty smart move, though, because the positive reviews will move potential subcompact owners into a civic, rather than one of the fit's competitors.

April 15 2006 at 8:31 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Steve Gomer

I think Honda took a good look at the Nissan Versa and knew it was in for trouble. Honda spent too much time looking at the pitiful Toyota Yaris and just forgot about Nissan.

The Versa is bigger, more powerful, and packs more standard features for less money. The Fit has a slight edge in handling, but in overall value (which is king in this end of the market) the Versa runs circles around it.

The Civic has an advantage in its market niche. The Fit suffers from comparison. Honda is correct in shifting production.

April 15 2006 at 8:21 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply