LOS ANGELES -- American Honda Motor Co.'s July sales rose 21 percent to 141,439 units, the highest percentage increase of any volume automaker.
Honda brand sales rose 21 percent to 126,289, while Acura sales increased 18 percent to 15,150.
Honda's core products led the way. Honda sold 27,226 CR-V crossovers, the best July ever for the nameplate. Sales of the re-engineered Civic jumped 30 percent to 32,416, for its best July in 13 years. The redesigned Accord also maintained its strong momentum, up 10 percent to 31,507.
"In July, all of our core models -- Civic, Accord, Odyssey and CR-V -- showed double-digit gains," John Mendel, executive vice president of sales at American Honda, said in a statement. "This indicates Honda's commitment to retail sales is resonating with consumers seeking not only fun and fuel-efficient vehicles, but also products that retain their long-term value."
Honda typically sells less than 2 percent of its vehicles to daily rental fleets.
On the light-truck side, sales of the Pilot crossover surged 33 percent, while sales of the Odyssey minivan rose 11 percent.
At Acura, the RDX compact crossover continued its strong sales, rising 48 percent to 3,936. After last year's huge gains with the RDX's redesign, July 2013 sales are compared to a sales climb that was fully under way.
The MDX mid-sized crossover is in launch mode, but still posted a 30 percent gain to 5,551.
But Acura sagged on the sedan side. Sales of the aging TL sedan dropped 22 percent, and those of the TSX fell 15 percent. The TSX nonetheless outsold the ILX compact sedan that is meant to replace it, despite a 5 percent gain for the ILX.
The RLX flagship sold just 617 units, still trying to find its way against the rear-drive competition from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus.
