HONDA Sets All-Time Record for Worldwide Auto Production for the First Half of a Fiscal Year

JCN Newswires, Oct 27, 2008

Tokyo, Oct 27, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd., today announced a summary of automobile production, Japan domestic sales, and export results for the month of September 2008 and the first half of the current fiscal year (April-September 2008), including all-time records for worldwide auto production and production in regions outside of Japan for the first half of a fiscal year.

Production

First Half of Current Fiscal Year (April - September 2008)

Production in Japan for the first half of the current fiscal year experienced a year-on-year decrease for the second consecutive year (since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008).

Production in regions outside of Japan for the first half of the current fiscal year experienced a year-on-year increase for the 12th consecutive year (since the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998), setting an all-time record for the first half of a fiscal year. This includes record production for the first half of a fiscal year in North America, Asia, and China.

Worldwide production experienced a year-on-year increase for the fifth consecutive year (since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005), setting an all-time record for the first half of a fiscal year.

September 2008 Production in Japan for the month of September 2008 experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in two months (since July 2008).

Production in regions outside of Japan experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in two months (since July 2008), setting an all-time record for the month of September. This includes record production for the month of September in North America, the U.S., Asia, and China.

Worldwide production experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in two months (since July 2008), setting an all-time record for the month of September.

Japan Domestic Market Sales

First Half of Current Fiscal Year (April - September 2008) Total Japan domestic market auto sales for the first half of the current fiscal year experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years (since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006).

New vehicle registrations for the first half of the current fiscal year experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years (since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006).

Sales of mini-vehicles for the first half of the current fiscal year experienced a year-on-year decrease for the second consecutive year (since the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008).

- Vehicle registrations - excluding mini-vehicles

Fit was the industry's best-selling car among new vehicle registrations for the first half of the current fiscal year, with sales of 85,430 units.

- Mini-vehicles - under 660cc

Life was the industry's fifth best-selling car among mini-vehicles for the first half of the current fiscal year with sales of 39,298 units.

September 2008

Total Japan domestic market auto sales for the month of September 2008, experienced a year-on-year decrease for the first time in three months (since June 2008).

New vehicle registrations experienced a year-on-year increase for the 11th consecutive month (since November 2007).

Sales ofmini-vehicles experienced a year-on-year decrease for the seventh consecutivemonth (since March 2008).

- Vehicle registrations - excluding mini-vehicles

Fit was the industry's best-selling car among new vehicle registrations for the month of September 2008, with sales of 16,350 units. Freed was the industry's fourth best-selling car with sales of 8,679 units.

- Mini-vehicles - under 660cc

Life was the industry's fourth best-selling car in the mini-vehicle category for the month of September 2008, with sales of 8,436 units.

Exports from Japan

First Half of Current Fiscal Year (April - September 2008)

Total exports from Japan for the first half of the current fiscal year experienced a year-on-year decrease for the first time in five years (since fiscal year ended March 31, 2004).

September 2008

Total exports from Japan in September 2008, experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in five months (since April 2008).

PRODUCTION, SALES and EXPORTS

Worldwide Productio

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                     *1st Half        September 2008     Year-to-Date Total
                 Fiscal Year ending                      (Jan. - Sep. 2008)
                   March 31, 2009
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                   Units   vs.FY08    Units    vs.07       Units    vs.07
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     Japan         605,934  -4.9%    118,631    5.9%      915,574  -6.8%
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Outside of Japan 1,360,844   6.8%    241,822   11.5%    2,070,064   8.7%
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Worldwide Total  1,966,778   2.9%    360,453    9.6%    2,985,638   3.4%
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