October 24, 2005 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced a summary of production, domestic sales, and export results for the month of September and the first half of fiscal year 2006 (April to September 2005).

September 2005
Domestic production for the month of September decreased 0.7% compared to the same month a year ago due to a decline in export shipments. Beginning with July 2005, this is the third consecutive month for domestic production to decrease compared to the same month a year ago.

Overseas production in September increased 9.0% due to production increases in North America on the second line of the Alabama plant with the addition of a second shift this year. Increased production in China and other Asian markets, where sales are experiencing steady growth, also contributed to the overall increase.   It is the second consecutive month since August 2005 for an increase in overseas production compared to the same month a year ago.

Worldwide production in September increased 5.1% due to the increased overseas production. It is the second consecutive month for an increase over the same month a year ago.

First Half of FY2006 (April - September 2005)
Domestic production for the first half of FY2006 increased 0.4% due to increased production of both domestic and export vehicles. This is the second consecutive year for production in the first half of the fiscal year to exceed the same period a year ago.

Overseas production increased 12.7% due to increased production on the second line of the Alabama plant, with the addition of a second shift in 2005. The new export plant in China started operations in April 2005, which also contributed to the overall increase. It is the ninth consecutive year, since FY1998, for an increase in overseas production compared to the same period of the previous year. Honda set an all-time record for overseas production for the first half of the fiscal year.

Worldwide production during the first half of FY2006 increased 8.0% due to increases in domestic and overseas production. It is second consecutive year since FY2005 for worldwide sales to increase over the same period of the previous year. Honda set an all-time record for worldwide production for the first half of the fiscal year.

September 2005
Total domestic sales, including imported cars, reached 75,199 units in September, up 3.7% compared to the same month a year ago, due to strong sales of passenger cars and light trucks. It is the first time in three months (since June 2005) for sales to exceed the same month a year ago. Models contributing to the increase in overall sales are the all-new StepWGN (11,814 units, the third best selling car in the market), which underwent a full model change in May, and the new Airwave (6,771 units, the 16 th best selling car in the market), which was introduced in April.

Passenger car and light truck sales (including imports) increased over the same month a year ago for the first time in three months (since June 2005); while the sales of mini vehicles declined for the first time in the last two months (since July 2005) as sales of Life stabilized.

First Half of FY2006 (April - September 2005)
Due to increased sales in both categories (passenger cars & light trucks and mini vehicles), total domestic sales including imported cars increased in the first half of FY2006 over the same period a year ago, reaching 361,797 units - up 3.1%.   New models contributing to the sales increase include Airwave (introduced in April) and Step WGN (received full model change in May).   It is the second consecutive year that sales increased over the first half of the previous year.

For the second consecutive year, sales of passenger cars and light trucks (including imports) as well as mini vehicles increased for the first half of FY2006 compared to the same period a year ago.

September 2005
Total exports in September of 38,861 units, were down 17.4% compared to the same month a year ago, due mainly to a decrease in exports to North America and Europe. It is the second consecutive month for exports to decrease compared to the same month a year ago.  

Exports to North America declined due to a shipping adjustment for the full model change of the Civic Hybrid, and exports to Europe declined due to the start-up of Jazz exports from a new Honda plant in China in addition to exports from Japan (Jazz is known as Fit in Japan).

First Half of FY2006 (April - September 2005)
Total exports for the first half of FY2006 reached 253,954 units, up 3.7%, exceeding the total for the same period a year ago for the second consecutive year. For North America, strong sales of Accord Hybrid introduced at the end of 2004, and the all-new Acura RL, which underwent a model change in fall 2004, contributed to the increase.

PRODUCTION, SALES, EXPORTS (June 2005)

*(April/01/2005 - September/30/2005)

*(April/01/2005 - September/30/2005)

*(April/01/2005 - September/30/2005)