Honda April Sales in US Slip Slightly, Civic Hybrid Gains Big

Honda Motor Company Limited (NYSE: HMC) said Tuesday that U.S. sales last month fell 2.2 percent because of three fewer selling days than in April 2011, but on a selling-day adjusted basis sales actually jumped 10 percent on strong demand for Accord and Civic hybrids.

Tokyo-based Honda sold 122,012 vehicles in April, a 2.2 percent drop over the year before. However, on a selling-day adjusted basis, Honda sales rose 10 percent for the month.

With double-digit sales growth in April, the Accord continues to be the retail sales leader in the mid-size segment, John Mendel, American Honda executive vice president of sales said Tuesday.

While the company's Honda division fell 3 percent in sales on an unadjusted basis, the Acura division was resilient and gained 4.9 percent. On an adjusted basis the Honda division gained 9.2 percent and Acura division sales grew 18 percent.

Honda's biggest winner on an adjusted basis was its Civic Hybrid model which increased sales 612 percent. The Accord gained big as well, increasing sales 41.3 percent. In Honda's luxury Acura division, the RDX saw sales rose the most, gaining 66.2 percent. Increased sales of both the Civic Hybrid and RDX vehicles came from increased consumer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.

Honda Motor Company Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) shares fell 76 cents to $35.28.