Sales Watch: Honda Accord sales creeping up on Toyota Camry?
While the Honda Accord dominated the 1990s, it has been virtually all Toyota Camry in the new century. Yet a look back at the first six months of 2009 shows that the newer, larger Accord is continuing to gain ground on its chief rival. Camry sales have so far remained top in its segment, with 150,242 sales in the first half of the year. The Accord isn't far behind, though, as it has amassed 131,143 sales through June; only 19,199 behind Camry.
Wards Auto reports that the Accord's gains have been consistent over the past three years, as the sales gap went from 94,004 in 2006 to 80,877 in 2007 and 63,828 in 2008. With sales deeply depressed so far in 2009, though, the numbers can be a bit deceiving. Still, the Camry has seen a 37.4% drop in sales, as compared to 36.3% for the Accord.
Toyota told Wards that one reason for the Accord's improved sales verses the Camry are increasing incentives on the full-size Honda. According to Edmunds, the Accord's April incentives increased four-fold verses the automaker's April, 2008 numbers. Even more interesting is the fact that cash on the hood has increased since April, hitting $2,183 in June. The Camry, on the other hand, had $1,538 on the hood last month; down over $400 compared to May.
[Source: Wards Automotive]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
jmc8387 2:09PM (7/16/2009)
I'll take a Camry SE V6 with nav. please. No Accord for me.
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audi_arena 2:14PM (7/16/2009)
yep, in beige with a beige interior. ...and I'll take my vanilla ice cream with vanilla sprinkles....
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Luis 2:16PM (7/16/2009)
Best Camry is the SE 4-cyl with a manual. If you can find one.
dwightB 2:34PM (7/16/2009)
audi_arena, you say that as if an Accord is some exciting alternative. If anything, it's the more boring of the two!
Other Man 3:26PM (7/16/2009)
I'd probably agree. I went onto the Toyota site and the 2010 SE V6 can be optioned with a limited slip diff, TRD exhaust kit, wheel and tire package, and more.
I really think I'd take the Toyota, surprising to me as that might be.
@ Erik:
Why the G6? It's inferior in every way, or at least almost every way.
audi_arena 3:54PM (7/16/2009)
Oh no, dwight- I'm not suggesting either of these cars are anything but the most mind-numbing borefests on the road. I'd prefer public transportation to these cars.
Sean 5:07PM (7/16/2009)
luis, according to toyotas website you can only get the manual on the base camry.
BigWill 8:41PM (7/16/2009)
@Sean
Not sure which Toyota site you're looking at, but in the US the 4-cyl SE is available with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed auto.
Finding a manual transmission'd SE, however, is a whole other story.
Randy915 9:37PM (7/16/2009)
Audi_arena I wouldn't go that far.... there are many other cars that are much MUCH more boring than the Camry or Accord. I drove my friend's Camry SE and it can move if you're good with the steering wheel and pedals =)
Randy 12:30AM (7/17/2009)
I'll take a 2010 Fusion Sport!
No Camry or Accord for me! If I had to pick on of them, I'd pick the Camry exterior with the Accord Interior...
audi_arena 2:12PM (7/16/2009)
I've been suprised by the Camry's low resale values lately, so it doesn't come as a suprise to me that it is losing it's once dominant popularity.
I think this is a testiment to how stiff competition is in the auto industry right now... just about every car out right now is many times more reliable than its predicessors of just one decade ago. Compared to the early 90's, you can't buy a 'bad' product these days.
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Luis 2:15PM (7/16/2009)
Sure you can. I recently was in a rental G6 with faulty rear door locks. There's plenty of craptastic cars out there if you know where to look.
Erik 2:21PM (7/16/2009)
Luis: It's called child safety locks.
I'd take a G6 over either of these two, even if Pontiac is going out of business.
Luis 2:27PM (7/16/2009)
No, the unlock feature did not lock the back door. Trust me, we checked the child lock feature. DURRR!
Bob-omb 3:28PM (7/16/2009)
Erik, I own a Camry and a G6. If you honestly feel that way, take my G6. PLEASE.
Nick 8:21AM (7/20/2009)
Yep I agree Luis. I just had a G6 as a rental and the suspension was already making a squeaking noise (only 12k miles). The Accord has it's share of issues such as oil burning, rear pads wearing at 15-20k miles, door regulators (2 failed in 5k miles), and sub-par MPG.
The VW/Audi may be more fun to drive but the way it guzzles oil I wouldn't touch them.
LMBVette 2:12PM (7/16/2009)
Living in South Florida.....I can positively ascertain the reason that the Accord has caught up to the Camry. The Camry's 70 year old and higher customer segment continues to die off.....thus negatively impacting brand loyalty.
Seriously...come down here and visit someday and look at each and every driver of a Camry or the Lexus ES.
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GTrav 4:43PM (7/16/2009)
and while you're at it, look at the population in relation to age demographics in south FLA... tell me that a reasonable person wouldn't conclude with elementary statistacal analysis, that the percentage of population over 70 years of age directly correlates to the percentage of people over said age driving a particular vehicle.
Luis 2:14PM (7/16/2009)
The Honda Buttons, I mean Accord, is not half-bad, and it is a newer design than the Camry. However, I think Honda has moved the Accord into the "too large" for some category.
On the other hand Honda doesn't really whore cars out to fleets, while Camrys are routinely seen in rental car parking lots.
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BigErn 2:17PM (7/16/2009)
Kill me if I ever conspire to own either of these cars.
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