Honda Pans U.S. Auto Industry Reliance on Fleet, Long-Term Loans
- Loans at least six years long may reach 60% of industry sales
- Discounted sales to fleets hurt customers who pay full price
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Carmakers would’ve sold about 1.5 million fewer vehicles last year if they hadn’t turned increasingly to long-term loans and unprofitable fleet sales that will hurt customers, Honda Motor Co.’s U.S. sales chief said.
Automakers relying on heavily-discounted fleet sales to governments and car-rental companies for as much as 40 percent of their volume are undercutting the resale value of vehicles that individuals pay for at full price, Honda Executive Vice President John Mendel said Wednesday. Almost all of Honda’s 1.6 million deliveries were to retail customers.