Honda to Boost Civic Output, Trim U.S. Minivans, SUVs

Honda Motor Co., the only large automaker to gain U.S. sales this year, will boost North American output of its Civic small car on increased demand and build fewer Odyssey minivans and Pilot sport utility-vehicles.

Light-truck production at Honda's Lincoln, Alabama, plant will be pared by 10,000 units from August through October, or about 3.3 percent of annual capacity, spokesman David Iida said today. He didn't give a figure for the Civic increase and said the truck cuts won't affect the 4,500-person Alabama workforce.

“There will be no layoffs. We're just adjusting production given market conditions,'' Iida said in an interview. “We want to manage our stock of vehicles, and not let it get too high.''

U.S. first-half sales for Tokyo-based Honda rose 4 percent, bucking a 10 percent industrywide drop. Buyers favored fuel- efficient Civic and Fit small cars as gasoline neared $4 a gallon and shunned the Odyssey and Pilot, whose first-half totals slumped 9.6 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Bloomberg.com