Honda in the US has told its dealers to honour discount offers in a bid to help the company recover sales. Since the Japan earthquake and tsunami struck Honda's home country in March, sales dropped by as much as 22.5 percent in May due to lack of inventory and less freedom on pricing.
Since March, both Honda and Toyota have seen fairly significant drops in sales. Honda and Toyota factories were damaged by the earthquake and are only just starting to get back on their feet now. On top of this, parts suppliers were also affected by the devastation, which has slowed inventory for the car companies as well.
To help pave the road to recovery, Honda Motor Co. in the US has told all its dealers to offer incentives and discounts on new Hondas, even if stock is a little slow. Understandably, Honda does not want to tell its customers to shop elsewhere. In these crucial times, Honda needs to do everything it can to retain buyers. Honda spokesman Gary Robinson said in a recent Automotive News report,
"We know we're going to have low inventories on some models - Civic is the perfect example. What we don't want to do is just send those people on their way without taking care of them."
The incentives are a part of a new effort called Honda Promise, which will try to rebuild sales and market share loses. The program is not available on Japan-made models and will only be in place until August 1 this year.
