Honda Motor Co.'s Civic, despite being stung by critical reviews and tight supply in the U.S. in 2011, rebounded to outsell its rivals so far this year and the carmaker has enough "ammunition" to hold onto the top spot, an executive said.
U.S. sales of Civic sedans and coupes rose 45 percent to 48,970 units in the year's first two months, ahead of Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla, a perennial challenger, and General Motors Co.'s Cruze. After supply disruptions last year, Honda now has enough North American capacity to make Civic the top-selling compact, said Tetsuo Iwamura, Honda's chief operating officer for North America.
"When competitors shoot at the Civic, we'll have enough ammunition to shoot back," Iwamura said in an interview this week at Honda's U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California. "We don't talk about No. 1 as a goal. We always think about having very good acceptance and high customer satisfaction."