Japan, July 29, 2008– Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced a summary of automobile production, Japan domestic sales, and export results for the month of June and the first six months of 2008, including an all-time record for worldwide auto production for the first half of the calendar year.


June 2008
Production in Japan for the month of June 2008 experienced a year-on-year decrease for the tenth consecutive month (since September 2007).

Production in regions outside of Japan experienced a year-on-year decrease for the first time in 35 months (since July 2005), though production in Europe achieved an all-time record for the month of June.

Worldwide production also experienced a year-on-year decrease for the second consecutive month (since May 2008).

The First Half of Calendar Year 2008 (January - June )
Production in Japan for the first six months of 2008 experienced a year-on-year decrease for the first time in two years (since the first six months of 2006).

Production in regions outside of Japan for the first six months of 2008 experienced a year-on-year increase for the 12th consecutive year (since the first six months of 1997), setting an all-time record for the first six months of a calendar year. This includes record production for the first six months of the year in North America, Europe, Asia and China.

Worldwide production for the first six months of 2008 also experienced a year-on-year increase for the tenth consecutive year (since the first six months of 1999), setting an all-time record for the first six months of a calendar year.


June 2008
Total Japan domestic market auto sales for the month of June 2008 experienced a year-on-year decrease for the fourth consecutive month (since March 2008).

New vehicle registrations experienced a year-on-year increase for the eighth consecutive month (since November 2007).

Sales of mini-vehicles experienced a year-on-year decrease for the fourth consecutive month (since March 2008).


Fit was the industry’s best-selling car among new vehicle registrations for the month of June 2008, for the eighth consecutive month (since November 2007) with sales of 14,702 units.
Freed was the industry’s tenth best selling car with sales of 5,331 units.


Life was the industry’s fifth best-selling car in the mini-vehicle category for the month of June 2008, with sales of 7,214 units.

The First Half of Calendar Year 2008 (January - June)
Total Japan domestic auto sales for the first six months of 2008 experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in six years (since the first six months of 2002).

New vehicle registrations in the first six months of 2008 experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in six years (since the first six months of 2002).

Sales of mini-vehicles in the first six months of 2008, experienced a year-on-year decrease for the second consecutive year (since the first six months of 2007).


Fit was the industry’s best-selling car among new vehicle registrations for the first six months of 2008, for the first time in six years (since the first six months of 2002) with sales of 98,013 units.


Life was the industry’s fifth best-selling car in the mini-vehicle category for the first six months of 2008, with sales of 49,686 units.


June 2008
Total exports from Japan in June 2008 experienced a year-on-year decrease for the second consecutive month (since May 2008).

The First Half of Calendar Year 2008 (January - June)
Total exports from Japan for the first six months of 2008 experienced a year-on-year decrease for the first time in seven years (since the first six months of 2001).