The battle for the title of best-selling passenger car in Canada is the fiercest it has been in more than a decade as Honda Canada Inc. gears up to fight off the Hyundai Elantra, which is clawing at the heels of the Civic.
With year-to-date sales of Elantras trailing Civics by just 110 cars as of the end of August, Honda is unleashing an expensive marketing campaign to launch the newest generation of its most important car, six months after its original debut was thrown off track by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan and severely disrupted Canadian production.
"It's a significant amount, probably more than we've ever spent before," said Honda executive vice-president Jerry Chenkin. While he declined to reveal the cost of the campaign for competitive reasons, he said it will include increased television and Internet advertising, finance and lease rates of 1.9 per cent for 60 months and 48 months respectively and a $1,000 incentive "as a way of apologizing for the fact that customers may have to wait."
At stake are more than bragging rights. The compact segment is the largest chunk of the Canadian market and is a key entry point for new buyers. A good buying and driving experience with that first vehicle encourages loyalty among owners and can allow an auto maker to retain a customer through several buying cycles.
The Civic has held the title of best-selling passenger car in Canada for the past 13 years, a fact Honda highlights in its advertising for the car.
"That's a source of incredible pride for us at Honda," he said. "We owe it to a lot of people to do our best," he added, because the car is built at a Honda plant in Alliston, Ont., where more than 4,000 people work.
Full production of about 800 cars a day is expected to resume this fall as auto parts makers in Japan get their plants up to full speed again after the March earthquake.
Beyond the earthquake, however, are other issues that may have affected sales.
Consumer Reports, for example, did not include the 2012 version of the car on its recommended list, the first time Civic has failed to make the list. Honda has been criticized for dull styling on the car.
Mr. Chenkin said the redesign has improved the car.
"It's the benchmark in compact vehicles, it's fun to drive, it's safe, it has benchmark fuel economy," he said.
There are two sides to the equation that is threatening Civic's 13-year run at the top, said industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.
One is why Civic sales have fallen, beyond the obvious issue of a shortage caused by the production disruptions stemming from the earthquake. Sales peaked at 72,463 in 2008.
The corresponding issue is why Elantra sales have taken off, Mr. DesRosiers said.
Part of it comes down to buzz in the marketplace, he said, which often means a car performs better than price, quality, content and incentives say it should when it's at the top and then does worse than it should when it's no longer the hot car.
"We still don't know exactly why a vehicle has an aura around it – why all of a sudden it becomes hot," he said. "Why did Civic have the buzz and why did they lose it and why does Elantra have it?"
Civic is, however, not up against just Elantra, which posted a 38 per cent sales gain in the first eight months of the year to hit sales of 32,937, compared with a 10 per cent decline in Civic sales to 33,047.
Strong new entries from Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. and General Motors of Canada Ltd. have strengthened those companies' presence in the compact segment. Sales of the Jetta offered by Volkswagen Canada Inc. have more than doubled.