What will Honda do next? September sales bump is good news, but will new CR-V, ZR-V and Civic hybrid help steady the ship?

Honda’s much publicised move to an agency sales model in mid-2021 was always going to be bumpy and the company’s management predicted a sharp downturn in sales as a result.

That sales decline came to pass, and Honda is now sitting well outside the top 10 best-selling brands list it occupied for decades. In the year-to-date sales tally, Honda is in 18th position, behind Suzuki, LDV and Tesla, and is only just ahead of premium marque, Audi.

So far this year Honda has sold 11,067 vehicles in Australia. However, last month its 1258 tally represented a 35.9 per cent increase on its September 2021 tally. That’s good news for Honda, even though it was off a low base.

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Under the agency model, Honda Australia, and not its dealers, own all the vehicle stock, allowing the company to roll out national drive-away pricing. It also prompted a consolidation of its dealer network.

Leading up to the transition, Honda Australia director Stephen Collins - who has just announced his resignation - confirmed that the new business model was designed to support annual sales of 20,000 units, with fluctuations expected either side of that figure, depending on supply and other market factors.

With just three months to go, Honda won’t achieve that watermark this year, but with new product on the horizon, it could well do it in the coming years.

The new-generation HR-V SUV is finally starting to fire, with a 64.3 per cent increase month on month, although year-to-date sales of 3815 still put it well off the pace of top-selling rivals like the Mazda CX-30 (11,978) or Subaru XV (6640).

It is never going to regain the sales glory of the more affordable model it replaced, especially given it’s only offered in two grades - the petrol Vi X from $36,700 drive-away, and the hybrid-powered e:HEV L at $47,000.

The new-gen CR-V could arrive before the end of 2023.

The CR-V family SUV is enjoying strong sales in its twilight years, with a 781-unit haul last month, which is up by 93.3 per cent. That was enough to outsell old foes like the Nissan X-Trail (496) and Subaru Forester (687).

Year to date it’s not doing too badly at all, with 6138 registrations (+20.0%) keeping it ahead of the surging GWM Haval H6 (5328) and seriously supply constrained Volkswagen Tiguan (1823), and within spitting distance of the X-Trail (6236).

While the North American version of the new-gen CR-V has just started production, a Honda Australia spokesperson informed CarsGuide that local timing for right-hand drive production of the sixth-generation CR-V is still yet to be confirmed.

While some reports have suggested it will arrive before the end of 2023, it could well push out beyond that.

Sales of the new HR-V have amped up.

With Honda’s strategy of a higher entry price but more equipment under the new agency model, it’s unclear how many grades of the new CR-V will be offered, and what price it will start at.

If, as expected, it’s a pricier affair than the current model, then sales could slide. However, the CR-V has long been a favourite among Australians and it could get a boost when it eventually launches.

Until then, the Honda Australia spokesperson said there was still good stock of the current CR-V.

“Honda currently has a reasonably good level of stock for most CR-V grades, depending on the specific vehicle colour selected, the state and delivery location, and the requested timing for delivery (immediate delivery is not the requirement for all customers).”

The Civic Type R will inject some excitement into the Honda line-up.

The Civic is well down on last September’s haul, with just 70 (-67.0%) finding homes last month. Given the sole Civic variant is priced at $47,200 drive-away, that’s not super surprising.

Honda should get a boost from two more Civic variants in the shape of the hybrid that is still confirmed to arrive before the end of 2022, and the fire-breathing Civic Type R hot hatch that’s scheduled to hit Honda showrooms in early 2023.

With the hybrid expected to be pricier than the current petrol-powered VTi-LX, and the Type R almost certainly increasing over the previous model’s $54,990 (before on-road costs) price tag, Civic sales aren’t likely to go through the roof when these models land.

With the Jazz and City light cars and Odyssey people-mover discontinued, the only other model in Honda’s Australian line-up is the Accord mid-size sedan.

The Accord remains a slow seller for Honda.

Although just 10 (-9.1%) Accords found homes last month, overall YTD sales are up by 44.1 per cent to 85 registrations. Again, not a massive result, but positive news is positive news. It’s still the slowest selling model in the sub-$60,000 medium car segment, with models like the Peugeot 508 (106 units, +19.1%) outselling it.

With models like the new-generation Jazz and all-electric Honda e ruled out for Australia, and a number of US-market offerings like the Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline only built for North America, Honda Australia doesn’t have a lot to choose from in its global catalogue, aside from the ZR-V.

An SUV that will slot into the line-up between the small HR-V and the CR-V that grows in size for the next generation, the ZR-V could be Honda’s best hope for significant sales volume and enough to get the brand to that magic 20,000-unit annual sales figure.

Once again timing is unclear, but previous comments from Honda says it should be in showrooms before the end of 2023.