April 2005 Sales

5 = 4,571
E = 3,731
STS = 3,541
GS = 3,198
M = 2,288
RL = 1,304

March 2005 Sales

5 = 3,949
E = 3,608
GS = 3,209
STS = 2,954
M = 2,253
A6 = 1,681
RL = 1,376

 

Thank you.



TL, TSX, and MDX Post Records


TORRANCE, Calif. 05/03/2005 -- April sales of 19,102 vehicles gave Acura its second best month ever and 18th consecutive record setting month, surpassing the previous record set in 2004 and up 11.9 percent versus last year based on the daily selling rate, the division announced today. Year-to-date, Acura sales rose to 67,516 up 8.9 percent compared to 2004.

The RL, TL, and TSX sedans helped set a new monthly record of 14,029 for total cars, breaking the 15-year-old record of 12,716 set in 1989. The TL performance luxury sedan was the top-selling model and posted a new April sales record, selling 7,206 units, up 3.4 percent over last year. Year-to-date TL sales reached 25,110 units, maintaining its position as the best-selling performance luxury sedan in the country. The TSX sports sedan also set a new April sales record, up 35.4 percent compared to 2004. TSX sales of 3,329 units surpassed the previous record set last year and marked the sports sedan's fifth consecutive month of record sales. Additionally, strong demand for the all-new RL luxury performance sedan continued with sales of 1,304, up 153.2 percent compared to 2004. Year-to-date RL sales of 5,463 outpaced last year's total by 183.9 percent.

"The diverse and exciting Acura lineup continues to shatter sales records month after month," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president, sales. "With the TL leading the way as the best-selling luxury sedan in the country, Acura is on track for a another record sales year."

The MDX luxury SUV also set a new April sales record, selling 5,073 vehicles, surpassing the previous record set in 2004 and driving the year-to-date total to 18,741 units.

Additional Acura information and downloadable high-resolution images are available at www.acuranews.com.

Monthly percentages are based on 27 selling days for this month versus 26 days for last April. Annual percentages are based on 102 selling day for each year.

 

Sales are holding steady despite the influx of new cars, namely the GS, M, A6 and STS.
Honda/Acura has got to be please.

Meanwhile, the TL and TSX are continuing strong sales.

 

I couldn't hold it in any longer , but why are we comparing the sales figures of the 2nd Generation RL to that of the 1st Generation RL? Totally different vehicles from the ground up....It's no surprise to anyone that the new RL is selling better than the previous outdated model.

My question would be, how well is the RL really performing when compared to the competition, the numbers are slowly declining.

Someone please give your opinion on this?

 

What happened to the A6's April numbers? LOL.
Just a few more hundred units per month and the GS is playing in the big leagues with the top two Germans.

 

Actually, rather shocking that the GS number did not gain. You would think that if the car was taking off we would see more of an increase as production tries to meet demand. Instead, looks like the GS, M, and RL are actually rather flat. Meanwhile, MB and BMW scored a nice gain despite the new competition. I'm not sure Acura or Lexus are happy about that, regardless of their press release.

We will know more after several more months of figures.

 

That's true, but if you look at sales of the old GS, this is a huge jump. I'm not too keen on Lexus sales numbers, but I don't believe Lexus has ever been this successful with the GS line.

 

1GRL vs 2GRL!? If you mean the sales comparions of Honda/Acura news, it's just because Honda/Acura try to compare this year's monthly sale records with last year's. Nothing else. After the 3rd quarter of 2005, you won't see 1GRL sales' info anymore.

 

I couldn't give a rat's ass over silly sales numbers so I'd say on a car quality/performance basis the RL is comparing quite well to the competition.

I'll be sure ot put value into sales figures when someone proves to me they actually are a symbol of anything other than humans being ignorant with their choices...a quick look at every industry and the top selling products in those industries proves this...

 

I seem to remember a figure of 5,500 monthly, or better, when the last generation GS first came out as a 1998 model. It recieved numerous awards like Car & Driver 10 best that I don't see this one getting. Of course, there was not as much competition then and the car was more advanced for that time. The GS400 in 1998 had 300hp, just as it does now, but in 1998 it was one of the fastest and most powerful sedans on the road. Amazing how times change. Now 300hp (witness the current RL) does not in and of itself create a buzz.

Granted, they didn't sell to well last year, but that is because Lexus left the GS virtually unchanged for 7-8 years, almost unheard of in today's market. Except for the old RL, of course.

It would be interesting to have the exact numbers. Anyone?

 

Rob, not to be argumentative but on what basis do you say the RL is comparing quite well? According to these numbers (assuming they are correct), the RL is in last place in the class pretty consistently. And that's with the advantage of the best value argument in this market. I'm not sure that is what most people would judge comparing well, rather maybe just comparing.

Agree though about sales figures in general, witness the high numbers of the Ford Taurus, probably one of the worst cars on the road for style, relaibility, and value, yet it sells what 200k+ per year? I am always boggled by those kind of numbers.

 

After browsing the Lexus site, I managed to find the numbers. It appears that the old GS, when new, was selling just as well as the new GS! Although nowhere near the 5,500+ monthly figure.

http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_li...17&index=TMAkw

 

hmm yeah that's what I figured. I remember the old one did pretty well. I don't know where I got the 5,500 number from.

Goes the show the old GS was a contender in it's day. Personally, I don't find the new one to be "all that". Tight on headroom too if you are tall. I used to have a 2001 GS and after sitting in a new one I realized the 2001 had more room and was actually more comfortable!

Go figure. Oh well at least I can scratch the GS off the list until the next redesign.

 

RL's are stacked on the lots in Houston - I know that my dealership is disappointed in sales. My probvlem is percieved value. I consider the MDX and TL to easily be "best-bang-for-the-buck" vehicles. I just can not bring myself to that same conclusion for the RL.

 

As commented on TOV, RL definitely isn't doing as well as Acura probably had hoped. It may easily fall short of the target of 20K for the year. Seems that Acura still hasn't quite figured out how to deal with the top model, especially marketing wise - i.e., what do the customers want for a car near $50K?

 

The 5 series and e-class seem to be doing very well. It is probably due to the good lease incentives. Acura, infiniti and lexus sales will probably be alot better as time passes. Since they are relatively new, most dealers wont budge on pricing. Surprisingly though, the STS is also selling very well. cadillac

 

The problem is definately marketing and perceived image. That car could be knocked down a few thousand too, especially in Canada. Here, it sells for $70k, which is A LOT to pay for a car. Compare that to the TL, at a much more reasonable 41-45k, depending on if you get nav or not.

 

The RL's sales are not that bad, we're just doing an "apples-to-oranges" comparison. We are comparing sales of the entire BMW 5 series to ONE Acura RL model. Same thing goes with the other cars in the comparison. They all have several models in the product line versus one RL. A more accurate comparison would be between the V6 AWD version from each product line versus the RL.

Regarding the high Canadian cost of the RL vs. the TL, doesn't Canada have a tariff against cars that are manufactured in Japan? Also, what's the exchange rate like between the yen and the Canadian dollar? Those might be reasons why there is such a price difference between the U.S. manufactured TL and the Japan-manufactured RL.

 

I don't see it as being an "Apples-to-Oranges" comparison. If you were comparing a Mercedes-Benz S65 to the RL, then yes. However, because Acura only offers one variation of the RL, doesn't place this vehicle in an exclusive "class" of its own.

Moreover, tallying the sales figures of vehicles in the class of the RL, whether FWD/RWD/AWD, is a fair way to calculate consumer preferences. I'm certain that it's appropriate to compare the sales of the RL with the M, GS, and other vehicles in the same class range.

Specifications shouldn't have to be identical in order to compare vehicles in the same class. Therefore, if Acura wants to sell more RLs', and appeal to an even broader customer base, then maybe they should offer different variations of the vehicle. The "One Size Fit All" is so "played".

Unfortunately, it's very sad that "American Honda" hasn't adapted to the American consumer, "meaning", offering variety. They should at least offer an RL that's equipped similiar to the JDM Legend.

So, I think it's "fair" to say we need more "variety". In the meantime, the Apples-to-Oranges blah blah, is a "no no" .

 

Comparing 5 cars to 1 is not "apples to oranges?" If a family of 5 kids gets into a scuffle with an only child, is it a fair fight?

While it would be nice if more variety were offered with the RL, I'm fairly sure American Honda did a cost/benefit analysis of the situation. Perhaps the cost of creating a RWD and/or V8 sedan outweighs the benefits of such a car at this time? Either a RWD setup or a V8 engine would require a new platform and perhaps such a platform would result in a car that's past the RL's price point. If people are complaining about the price difference between a TL and an RL, imagine what they would say about the difference between a TL and a car costing over $55K!

Nissan/Infiniti are able to offer a RWD M sedan because of two factors: 1) all of their cars are going to the same RWD set up, which spreads the cost, 2) Nissan/Infiniti received an influx of cash when Renault bought a controlling interest in the company. Toyota/Lexus is able to create new GS because: 1) Toyota is HUGE, much bigger than Honda, 2) they can propagate RWD and a V8 engine throughout the Lexus cars. Honda simply isn't in that position. They aren't as enormous as Toyota nor do they have a French sugar daddy like Nissan. That doesn't mean Honda will never offer a RWD or a V8 (or both), just not right now. Meanwhile, the new RL is selling well within its niche and has thousands of content customers. And it is doing it the Acura way: offer a lot of gadgets for a competitive price. Perhaps we shouldn't deride the RL for what it is not, but congratulate it for what it is.

 

One quote to sum it all up, "Excuses are made to satisfy the one who makes them"

American Honda, could offer more, I'm not buying the idea "because they aren't that huge". As for the money factor, I never said anything about the Acura costing too much. I own both an 05 RL & 03 Type-S. I love both vehicles, however, just because I love these cars doesn't mean I can't voice my opinion, especially about the "Apples-to-Oranges" comparison.

However, there are a few features I wish Acura would have offered as options on either vehicle, even it it pushes the sticker up to $55K. Besides, when you add the chrome wheels & brake package that the dealer offers, you'll be paying $54K MSRP, and that's only wheels, not the neat stuff like heated/cooled seats, laser cruise, and heated rear-seats, the list could go on.

And since when has it ever been "5 cars to 1"? I'm sure it's 5 against 5, that's usually how most comparisons are conducted?

 

An excuse is not the same as a business decision. Sure, AHM could put more features in the RL, just like BMW could gain more market share by making some FWD models for the masses who don't know the difference. But in both cases, the manufacturers have made business decisions based (hopefully) on some kind of tangible data. I don't work for Honda/Acura, so I wouldn't know, but I'm sure that a brand that is doing as well as Acura has been doing lately has some knowledgeable people on their staff. If not, there are going to be some irate shareholders.

Personally, I think Honda/Acura is taking an evolutionary approach. Our current RL will evolve into a higher model, something similar to Audi's A8. I think that's the reason why Acura's employees never refer to the RL as a flagship, not even on their web site. I believe the next few years will exciting for Acura fans. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing more owners of the first and second TL, many of whom don't like the new TL, move up to the RL.

 

I don't think it will be close to that. A RL is a AWD V-6 car, which is the equivilent of AWD V-6 competition. This is Acuras top sedan. In this SAME class, the competition has V-8 cars and the V-8 version are the top of the line for the class. Then you have the next class up which is the 7/s/LS/A8 which in America, STARTS with a v-8 engine and ends in most cases with a 12 cylinder car.

The Rl, looking at sales is having a hard time now convincing people to buy it. With a V-8 option, it may add 4-500 units extra a month and the car still would be near bottom in sales.

 

Agree

 

Good post.
And BMW doesn't need to bring any FWD or 4 cyclinder models for more market share.
They are doing very well with the 3 series as is, and will only do better when the new 3 is released.

 

The new BMW 3 series is impressive and I'm sure it will continue to be BMW's bread and butter. In fact, I saw a new 325 in a parking lot last night. Very nice.

Regarding car sales comparisons, let's assume that the RL competes with every other mid-sized sedan in the price range. If we're going to compare, then let's to do a model-by-model comparison. In other words, compare the Lexus GS 300's sales to the RL and then compare the Lexus GS 430's sales to the RL. To combine the sales of both Lexus models (or 5 series BMW's or whatver) is somewhat like combining sales of the Acura TSX and TL (which are basically the same car) into a "T-class."

Regarding the lack of options for the RL, it would be nice if there was a choice of engines, drive configurations, etc. However, this first year of the second-generation RL reminds me of when Apple first debuted the iPod. Originally, the iPod came with few choices. In fact, it was originally only offered for one platform, the Mac. That allowed the iPod to build a strong following with the core market and then build its way into the mainstream. Now, some 3 or 4 years later, you have a wide range of iPod choices. I believe Honda/Acura is taking a similar approach.

The RL is currently aiming toward its (somewhat small) core market, namely those people who drove earlier TLs and CLs and are looking to upgrade, along with those who drove the previous RL and are not put off by the changes in the new RL. That core market is accustomed to having lots of feature content (gadgets, basically) for a reasonable price. The downside is there are few factory options with these cars. This is similar to the strategy Acura took with the 1999 Acura TL. When that car was first released, there were lots of goodies for the price, but few factory options. Over time, more options were added, including the Type S in 2001. As Acura solidifies its base with the RL, perhaps more factory options will be added over time. It will be interesting to see how this experiment goes.

Why so few factory options? Because customization costs the manufacturer. For example, once upon a time, there were many more choices in the interior colors of cars than there are now. In fact, you're lucky if you have a choice of more than two interior colors for a given exterior color. That's because fewer factory choices save the manufacturer money. The same thing for feature content. Giving the customer a plethora of gadget choices will cost the manufacturer, which will be passed on the customer. So we have a choice, the "a la carte" approach that the Infiniti provides, which might possibly cost the customer more money overall, or the "all or nothing approach" that Acura advocates? Maybe a middle ground will eventually be found, where Infiniti offers more standard features and Acura offers more factory options.