By George Guimarães | 8/4/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch
Worshipped by its owners and the market along more than two decades of local production, the Honda Civic returned to Brazil in 2023, imported from Thailand, after a two-year absence.
Returned? Looking at the last seven months’ numbers, it’s almost possible to say no.
Honda officially opened sales of the new generation Civic in January. Since then, only 324 units have been delivered until the end of July, according to Fenabrave’s data.
The 46 vehicles monthly average is alarming. And it impresses even more because 157 Civics were licensed in February – almost half of the total.
Already in March, sales dropped to 76 and, in April, to 33. Over the last three months, sales almost ceased, with seven in May, five in June and four in July.
Those numbers are even under extremely expensive models, such as the Porsche 911 sports car, which had 463 units delivered until July, 53 of them last month.
Fenabrave lists 20 medium sedans as Civic competitors in a segment that sold 29.1 units in the first seven months this year. Like in the last two decades, the leader is the Toyota Corolla, with 23.7 thousand deliveries and more than 80% share.
In the past, the Toyota model hegemony was jeopardized by only one rival, the ceased national Civic. The new generation will surely not play this role.
Offered in a single hybrid version costing nearly R$ 250 thousand, the Civic became a niche product, just a brand’s lure. In Brazil, Honda heavily depends on the success of the national HR-V SUV, which sold 25.5 thousand of the total 40.8 thousand delivered by the brand in the internal market until July.
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