Honda Steps Carefully With U.S. Light Truck Plans

Reuters reports that Honda Motor Co. has plenty of room to expand its offerings in the profitable U.S. light truck segment but will think carefully before deciding on a new model, a senior executive said on Friday.

"We are not being too gung-ho on launching an all-new product in the first or second year after our Model X sports utility vehicle (SUV)," Michiyoshi Hagino, senior managing director in charge of Honda's automobile division, said in a interview. "We'll decide after we see how Model X performs," he said, noting that Honda always looks to see how a new model performs before deciding on the next.

Japan's second-largest automaker plans to launch the Model X, a youth-oriented SUV, either late this year or early next year. With the introduction of the Model X, Honda's light trucks are set to account for roughly 30 percent of its U.S. vehicle sales, compared with an industry average of 50 percent. Honda has said, however, that it is not aiming as high as 50 percent, which would involve a foray into the pick-up truck market and investment in a new type of assembly plant.