The auto industry has been in dire straits since 2020, with most manufacturers seeing record-low sales figures. However, the worst seems to be over for many carmakers, including Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, and Hyundai. But Honda still appears to be in trouble, according to recent car sales figures.

How bad are Honda sales, and why are they still slumping?

Honda Motor Co. in the United States saw a 16.8% decline in sales for October 2022 compared to October 2021. That includes sales from Honda and its luxury division, Acura. Honda sold 72,409 units, while Acura sold 9,136 units, for 81,545 in total sales in October 2022. Volume dropped last month, with Honda and Acura reporting 17% and 9.1% declines.

“Volume has now skidded 15 straight months at Honda and 14 consecutive months at Acura,” Automotive News reports. “The Honda division’s most popular models all racked up double-digit declines in October — Accord, off 24%, Civic, down 15%, CR-V, off 19% and HR-V, down 36%.”

The manufacturer blames supply and shipping bottlenecks as the main culprits for the decrease in volume and sales.

Honda sent notices to its dealerships noting production will likely remain at about 75% capacity throughout the last quarter of 2022. Consequently, the automaker might have to wait until early next year to fulfill some dealership allocations expected to ship this November and December.

In addition, Honda doesn’t expect U.S. inventories to normalize until around the fourth quarter of 2023.

Honda sales figures stand in stark contrast to Toyota’s

While Honda sales have declined, Toyota Motor N.A. sales have improved. The latter showed a 27.7% volume increase for its Toyota and Lexus divisions from October 2021 to October 2022. The Toyota division notched a 33.5% increase; however, Lexus saw a 3.7% decline.

Some of the brand’s top sellers showed massive gains. For instance, the Camry saw a 68% increase, from 17,691 units sold in October 2021 to 29,707 in October 2022. The Tacoma followed suit, with a 44% increase from 14,650 to 21,051. As for the RAV4, it showed a 40% rise from 24,994 to 35,089.

Toyota’s other big gainers include the Corolla Cross, Corolla, and Prius. Introduced in 2021, the Corolla Cross saw a huge sales increase, from 826 to 7,419 over the previous October. As for the Corolla sedan, sales almost doubled from 8,420 to 16,663. Last, Prius deliveries increased by 37%.

In comparison, most of Honda’s popular models suffered sales declines in October. For instance, the Accord saw 15,386 sales in October 2021, according to GoodCarBadCar. That number dropped to 11,751 in 2022, marking a 24% decline.

The Civic is no different, with the Japanese automaker selling 13,399 units last October, compared to 11,347 this past October.

Even Honda’s most popular SUV, the CR-V, had a nearly 20% decline in sales from 25,393 to 20,517.

Why is no one buying the 2022 Honda Pilot?

Honda’s sales slump seems to be the worst for the 2022 Pilot. For context, it was one of the more popular midsize SUVs. Now it has suffered an over 30% decline in sales since 2021.

One reason is the Pilot’s higher starting price than other midsize SUVs. Therefore, buyers feel they can get better value by choosing competitors.

Additionally, the Honda Pilot offers an off-road-focused TrailSport trim with 18-inch wheels and a lifted suspension, resulting in 0.6 inches of extra ground clearance. But buyers believe the slight ground clearance upgrade and minor aesthetic changes don’t justify the price hike.