Honda axes Accord Euro

HONDA Australia director Stephen Collins today confirmed the Accord Euro will be discontinued next year, with the downturn in the European market and dwindling interest in the mid-size segment blamed for its decline.

Describing the Honda global decision to drop the mid-sizer as “disappointing”, Mr Collins said production of the Accord Euro would cease in Japan in February, but Honda Australia would have enough stock to continue sales to mid 2015.

The mid-sizer has been sold in Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, while Honda's premium arm, Acura, offers a re-badged version called TSX in North America.

In Australia, it has been sold alongside the larger Thai-built, US-designed Accord since 2003. Australia was the only major market to offer both the American-focussed Accord and the Euro, a strategy the car-maker's local arm said had been a success and one it had hoped to continue.

It is unclear if the Euro’s axing will have a positive impact on regular Accord sales, which are down 42.6 per cent so far this year with 1365 units sold.

In the same nine months, Honda has shifted 582 Euros, which is a 60 per cent slide on the same period in 2013.

Australian medium car sales are down 12.8 per cent to the end of September, with Skoda's Octavia, the low-volume Citroen C5 and Holden's Malibu sedan the only models with growth.

Mr Collins said Honda Australia had sold 60,000 Accord Euros in its 11years on this market, with the first generation averaging about 1000 sales a month.

As it has aged, the current six-year-old second-generation Accord Euro has been the subject of speculation, with Honda keeping quiet on a potential replacement.

In January, Acura tore the covers off its new TLX luxury sedan that was seen as the replacement for two models in its line-up – the American-built TL and the Japanese-built Accord Euro-rebadged TSX.

Several media outlets, including GoAuto, suggested the TLX could replace the Euro in the few markets that offer it, but Mr Collins said at the time that was unlikely.

Since the first-generation Accord Euro was launched in mid 2003, the critically acclaimed sedan has been seen as a premium alternative to the regular Thai-built Accord.

In 2008, Honda launched the larger, more powerful second-generation Euro which quickly won the praise of the motoring media and took home a number of major automotive awards.