Honda’s 17.7% rise in sales in Europe since the beginning of the year is being attributed to a 71.2% increase in sales of the Accord model.  Accord sales from January to the end of May totalled 21,799 out of the overall total of 110,594. 

With the UK leading the way with overall sales of 6115 Accords – a 59% rise over the same period in 2003 – the introduction of the new model has been a major boost for the model in Spain – up 176% - Italy – up 316% - and France – up 139%.  Honda believes that the increasing popularity of the Accord model across Europe will continue to build the company’s brand and boost sales further in European markets.

Senior Vice President of Honda’s European operations Ken Keir said: “Success breeds success and with the new Accord completing an exceptional model line-up, we can compete with any other brand in every sector.  The European public is getting the message that the Honda brand stands for high-quality engineering, which means exceptional drive quality and handling tied to excellent reliability and safety, and at very reasonable prices.  With this mix we are increasingly attracting younger drivers looking for an enjoyable driving experience.”

While sales of the Accord show the most dramatic increase, the other mainstays of Honda’s line-up continue to perform well in Europe, with the Civic range up 10.6% over the same period last year to 37,961 and the Jazz up 20.7% to 28,349.  Sales of the UK built CR-V over the same period increased slightly to 16,828, a 0.7% increase on last year’s sales. It is interesting to note that the CR-V sport utility vehicle has been on the European market since 1997 and has consistently achieved a sales volume in the range of 25-40,000 units annually. Cumulative European sales are now 240,000. 

Growth in most of Honda’s western European markets in the January to May period against the same period in 2003 (Portugal +43.1%, Belgium +42.0, Spain +40.5%, France +18.1%, Netherlands +17.8%, UK +13.4%, Italy +5.6%, ,) is being matched by increasing sales in eastern Europe.  Sales in Poland are up 45.6%, Hungary up 9.4%, and the Czech Republic up 13.5%.

 Honda Car Sales in Europe(NB Honda Figures)