Honda kills off Euro

One of the gems of Honda's local line-up, the Accord Euro, has been killed off.

The European-focused Japanese-built mid-size sedan will remain on sale for now, but will not be replaced when its current model production run ceases early next year, with Australian stocks expected to be exhausted by mid-2015.

Honda Australia confirmed the axing of the model this morning.

First launched in 2003, the Accord Euro effectively resurrected the medium car class Down Under. Back then the car won praise for its dynamics and packaging – as well as its styling and overall performance.

In more recent years, in its second generation, the Euro was less vaunted. The American-isation of the standalone Accord effectively sounded the death knell for the smaller and more expensive variant.

Motoring.com.au flagged the likelihood of the Euro's axing last year. Since then the MkII Euro has been replaced by a new left-hand drive-only TLX sedan in the US, its biggest market.

Demand for the model has also declined in other big markets like China, where the Accord Euro-based Spirior has been replaced by a new LHD/China-only model.

Ironically, another reason the model will not be replaced is that Honda no longer sells the Accord Euro in the European marketplace.

In many respects the Euro's fortunes have echoed Honda's overall in Australia. Last year the Euro found just over 1800 local homes -- a 70 per cent drop on 2012, when the vehicle accounted for more than one in six Hondas sold.

Year to date September, just 583 Euros have been registered this year Down Under.

At its peak, the Euro sold more than 10,000 units per annum (2005). In that same year Honda sold more than 47,000 vehicles here. Although Honda's Australian sales peaked at more than 60,500 units in 2007, the company saw sales halve (to 30,107 in 2011) before a relative recovery to just shy of 40,000 units last year.

This year the company is on track to reach just 35,000 registrations Down Under.

Honda in placing much stead in increasing sales of existing and updated models in 2015. Its protracted model range will grow by just one next year with the arrival of the new HR-V compact SUV in the first quarter.

Other noteworthy changes in 2015 include the arrival of a facelifted Civic hatch in Q2 and the 2.0-litre turbocharged Type-R Civic hot hatch, which is yet to be formally confirmed for local release.

Late this year the CR-V mid-size SUV will be updated, and Honda Australia continues to consider hybrid versions of both the Jazz and Accord.

Honda Australia has also confirmed the NSX supercar will join its line-up, but won't be drawn on definitive timing. The car is, however, expected here in the first half of 2016, after its late-2015 launch in the US.

What's coming from Honda:
CR-V update — Dec 2014
HR-V compact SUV— Q1 2015
Civic hatch update — Q2 2015
Civic Type-R – not confirmed for Oz
NSX – H1 2016