Honda Calls Fleet Sales the 'Dark Underbelly'

Honda Motor Co. chided its competitors for using lower-margin fleet sales and reliance on sub-prime lending to boost sales, while discussing its falling market share on a conference call.

The executive vice president of U.S. sales for Honda, which doesn't have a fleet sales division, claimed other automakers have a "heavy reliance on fleet sales to boost volumes," reports Bloomberg.

Honda now ranks fifth in the U.S. in volume, and has seen a 1.3 percent drop in deliveries this year through July, while the automotive industry has seen a 5 percent increase.

Jack Nerad, a senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book, told Bloomberg fleet sales and longer loan terms are the "dark underbelly" of the U.S. auto sales expansion in 2014.