Honda Odyssey and Honda Pilot Production Cut
October 16, 2008
By Benson Kong
Photography by The Manufacturer
The ever-gloomy automotive industry has led Honda to slash production of its Odyssey minivan and Pilot crossover SUV. The utilitarian nature of the Pilot has not helped its sales, as they have decreased 16.8% through September to 79,430 units. Likewise, the Odyssey is arguably one of the most popular minivans on the market, but sales have dropped 14% to 112,041 units. The lack of market demand has pushed these two vehicles further down the sales ladder, and Honda is acting accordingly.
Honda had earlier this year decided to cut production of the Odyssey and Pilot by 10,000 units per year, but there are now additional plans to cut another 22,000 units. Demand for the Odyssey and Pilot is down, but Honda has been seeing increased demand for its Civic and Accord passenger cars and will increase plant production for these two cars.
According to Honda spokesman Ed Miller: "We are trying to use our plant flexibility to minimize the effects of the market going down and satisfy our customers' desire for more cars and fewer trucks."
Source: Motor Authority