Honda Motor Co.’s president Takanobu Ito has said he expects the automaker’s redesigned Fit subcompact to be the key driver in North American sales over the next several years. Ito predicts that the new Fit, scheduled to be revealed next year, will help increase the nameplate’s volume from 64,177 units last year, to 200,000 by 2017.
The new Fit is part of a plan by the automaker to increase sales to 2 million units across the whole lineup in the next four years and by building the car at a new facility in Mexico, North American dealers should have easier access to a ready supply of cars, as well as avoid the U.S. dollar/yen exchange rate which has been hurting the profitability of Japanese automakers in recent years.
However, considering that Americans in particular still aren’t hugely enamoured with small cars and the fact that last year, the Fit accounted for just four per cent of total North American Honda volume, Ito’s plan appears to be an ambitious one. Nevertheless, given that the new Mexican facility will have the capacity to produce 200,000 Fits annually and that the car will offer Honda’s next generation Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system, plus what Ito said “variations that Americans will love,” the automaker is doing its best to ensure the next generation Fit proves to be a smash success over here.
