Four-door problems: Acura RLX will not have a successor, but Honda Legend will continue to live

16 Jun

The flagship sedan of the Japanese brand is too weak in the US market.

Acura RLX appeared at dealerships in the USA in the spring of 2013, and in 2017, the model survived the restyling. Sedan sales for all the time of its presence on the market cannot be called high: the most successful for RLX was the incomplete 2013th, when customers bought a little more than 5 thousand cars. In 2017, the indicator slipped to 1237 cars, and the update increased the result only to 1931 copies (for the entire 2018th). At the end of 2019, dealers sold only a little more than 1 thousand units (-47.2%). This was probably the verdict for the four-door.

According to Automotive News, the 2020 model year will be the last for the flagship sedan, so that soon the RLX will be excluded from the Acura lineup. However, his twin, sold in Japan under the name Honda Legend, will remain in service. Recall, the car entered this market in 2014, as the fifth-generation Legend. Acura TLX second generation: new engines and platform, and a pillow in the form of a baseball glove

In the USA, crossovers RDX and MDX are now leading among Acura brand cars. So, according to the results of the last year, RDX sold 62 876 units. (1% less than in 2018). And the MDX indicator is 52 019 pcs. (1% more than a year earlier). Also quite good results (when compared with RLX) in sedans TLX and ILX. For 2019, customers bought 26,548 pcs. (-13%) and 14 685 pcs. (+ 30%) respectively. It is not surprising that the company plans to leave this pair in the lineup, despite the fact that the demand for sedans in the States is gradually falling.

Acura RLX is equipped with a 310-strong “aspirated” V6 volume of 3.5 liters, which is paired with a ten-speed “automatic”. There is also a version with a 377-horsepower hybrid installation, created on the basis of the same V6 engine. It includes a pair of electric motors located on the rear axle. This option is equipped with a seven-speed automatic transmission with two clutches.

The current Acura RLX price tag in the US starts at $ 54,900. For a hybrid modification you will have to pay a minimum of $ 61,900.

By the way, in Japan Honda Legend is offered only as a hybrid. Its price in the local market starts at 7 205 000 yen.

Recall that Acura is a sub-brand of Honda. Automobiles “head” brand in the US market are more popular. So, two Honda models are not the first year among the ten best-selling in the USA. For example, at the end of 2019, CR-V had a result of 384,168 pcs. took 6th place in the list, and Civic with an indicator of 325,650 pcs. – 9th.

However, this year, sales of new cars in the States are likely to seriously sink. The reason is obvious: coronavirus, which caused a serious recession in the economy. In March the indicator fell by almost 40%, and forecasts for this car market (and for the world one) are by no means disappointing. For example, Toyota has already announced that it expects a 80% drop in profits for the current fiscal year.