The answer was simple: Honda doesn't do fleet sales.
I'm serious. That's all it was.
Here's how rental car companies buy all their cars: They have so many vehicles to purchase that they don't go anywhere near a dealership, like a normal human. Instead, they call up some automaker's fleet manager -- like, say, Chevy's -- and they say, "Gimme 400 base-model Camaros. Make sure they don't have any floor mats." Then, they get 400 base-model Camaros, all without floor mats. People rent them, and it's great. Then, some guy like me vacuums the potato chip crumbs out of the middle seat-belt hole.
Well, Honda doesn't play this game. They don't do fleet sales. And here's the crazy thing: As you probably know, the Toyota Camry has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for the last 40 million years, since Toyota of the Cretaceous Period sold one to a teenage diplodocus. Well, guess what? The only reason the Camry beats out the Accord every year is that Toyota sells to fleets, and Honda doesn't! In some years, the Honda Accord could have the distinction of best-selling car if Honda would just sell to fleets, like Toyota does -- and yet, they absolutely refuse to.
Which brings us to the next question: Why doesn't Honda sell to fleets?
There are many, many answers to this question. One is that fleet sales mean lower profit margins, and Honda would rather sell the cars to retail buyers and make more money. Another is that fleet sales tend to hurt resale values, since the market is flooded with additional examples of your vehicles. A final one is that bulk fleet sales tend to come about because automakers have agreements with unions that factory workers must work a certain minimum number of hours -- so even if there's no demand for a vehicle, the factory should keep building it, because it's better to make extra cars than pay workers to do nothing. Obviously, those cars usually wind up going to fleets. Honda doesn't seem to have this volume problem.
And so, Terry, the world keeps spinning. The wind keeps blowing, the sun keeps rising, and Honda keeps avoiding selling cars to rental fleets -- even though it would turn the Accord into the best-selling car in America.
https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/why-dont-rental-car-companies-have-hondas-259384
I'm serious. That's all it was.
Here's how rental car companies buy all their cars: They have so many vehicles to purchase that they don't go anywhere near a dealership, like a normal human. Instead, they call up some automaker's fleet manager -- like, say, Chevy's -- and they say, "Gimme 400 base-model Camaros. Make sure they don't have any floor mats." Then, they get 400 base-model Camaros, all without floor mats. People rent them, and it's great. Then, some guy like me vacuums the potato chip crumbs out of the middle seat-belt hole.
Well, Honda doesn't play this game. They don't do fleet sales. And here's the crazy thing: As you probably know, the Toyota Camry has been the best-selling car in the U.S. for the last 40 million years, since Toyota of the Cretaceous Period sold one to a teenage diplodocus. Well, guess what? The only reason the Camry beats out the Accord every year is that Toyota sells to fleets, and Honda doesn't! In some years, the Honda Accord could have the distinction of best-selling car if Honda would just sell to fleets, like Toyota does -- and yet, they absolutely refuse to.
Which brings us to the next question: Why doesn't Honda sell to fleets?
There are many, many answers to this question. One is that fleet sales mean lower profit margins, and Honda would rather sell the cars to retail buyers and make more money. Another is that fleet sales tend to hurt resale values, since the market is flooded with additional examples of your vehicles. A final one is that bulk fleet sales tend to come about because automakers have agreements with unions that factory workers must work a certain minimum number of hours -- so even if there's no demand for a vehicle, the factory should keep building it, because it's better to make extra cars than pay workers to do nothing. Obviously, those cars usually wind up going to fleets. Honda doesn't seem to have this volume problem.
And so, Terry, the world keeps spinning. The wind keeps blowing, the sun keeps rising, and Honda keeps avoiding selling cars to rental fleets -- even though it would turn the Accord into the best-selling car in America.
https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/why-dont-rental-car-companies-have-hondas-259384
