Honda CEO takes responsibility for 2012 Civic’s poor reception in the U.S.

Posted: Nov 30, 2011
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Here’s a bit of news that may be a bit depressing if you just purchased the new Civic. Honda‘s CEO Takanobu Ito says that he takes personal responsibility for the redesigned 2012 Civic’s poor reception and sales performance in the United States since the car launched in April.

“The ultimate responsibility rests with me,” Ito said top the press at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. “We take inputs from the various markets with sincerity…and try to work out the best actions for what we have observed. Those decisions rest with me.”

Sales of the Honda Civic have fell more than 15 percent to 183,557 units in the United States during the first 10 months of 2011.

For the first time in 10 years, the Honda Civic was left off of the list of ‘recommended’ vehicles by Consumer Reports magazine. The publication said it could not recommend the vehicle due to the poor quality of its cheap interior plastics. A review by the Wall Street Journal called the Civic redesign ‘a betrayal.’

So what is Ito going to do to fix it? Honda is planning to speed up the mid-cycle change for the Civic as early as next year for the 2013 model year – that’s 1 year ahead of schedule.

- By: Roman Bronfenbrener

Source: Automotive News


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  • Cad4life

    those 2012 civic r going 2 kill hondas resale value 4 the brand, should wait a less 2 years 

  • Matt

    Is he going to take responsibility for the overall decline of Honda?

  • John

    It’s about time consumers see Honda for what they truly are. Honda management thought that no matter how cheap the materials are, that people would buy a Honda just because it is a Honda. NOT!!!!!    There is a reason why Honda has fallen to third in sales in their own Japanese market behind Toyota and Nissan. People’s perception of Honda in the USA is completely misguided. There is a reason why Toyota continues to dominate sales in the USA, Japan and other parts of the world. If you spell Honda the way it is pronounced, it is spelled  HON-DUHH    Well, Honda CEO – duhh !

  • Desertwind

    Hey Ito-San,

    You may not care about a flagship (NSX) for the brand/s (Acura and NSX), but you just DONT mess with the Civic.
    Time to do the honorable thing and fall on your sword.
    Maybe your successor will get things right first time.

  • Misakastrati

    Can anyone tell me who the CEO of Honda is and what there email address is ?
    Thank you