American Honda crossed 1 million U.S. sales in the first eight months of 2026, a month earlier than it reached the mark last year, and hybrids did much of the lifting. According to the company’s Sept. 1 sales release, the Honda brand sold an August-record 36,776 hybrids, and the CR-V Hybrid posted its best August on record.
For shoppers in the five boroughs, that is more than an industry footnote. Stop-and-go city driving is where a hybrid pays its way, and the lineup a buyer now finds at Plaza Honda in Brooklyn includes hybrid versions of the Civic, Accord and CR-V, plus the hybrid-only Prelude coupe that returned for 2026.
The numbers behind the milestone
Through August, American Honda sold 1,027,465 vehicles, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier, with August alone up 1.0 percent to 133,996. The more telling figures sit inside the Honda brand. The Civic sold 21,976 units in August, its sixth straight month above 20,000, and the Accord’s 18,691 made for its best August since 2020. Honda’s car sales rose 10.1 percent for the month, a notable result in a market that has spent a decade drifting toward SUVs. The Passport set an August record with a 16 percent gain, and the HR-V had its best month since March 2025.
Read together, the release points to buyers choosing efficiency and value: hybrid powertrains and compact sedans, rather than the largest vehicle they can finance.
Why hybrids fit New York driving
Honda’s hybrids run on electric power at low speeds and recapture energy when braking, which is why their advantage is largest in city traffic. The CR-V shows the pattern clearly: the front-drive hybrid carries an EPA city rating of 43 mpg versus 28 for the gas model, a gap that shrinks to 3 mpg on the highway.
Take a typical Sunset Park commuter who drives to a job in Long Island City on the BQE five days a week. Almost every mile is stop-and-go, so the hybrid’s city rating is the one that matters, and a Civic Hybrid or CR-V Hybrid fits the routine better than the gas equivalent. A contractor whose day is mostly Southern State Parkway miles to job sites in Nassau County gains much less from the hybrid and can reasonably choose on price and cargo space instead.
Shopping a Honda hybrid this fall
- Compare city ratings, not combined ones, if most of your driving happens inside the boroughs.
- Check the model year. Some 2027 Hondas carry over largely unchanged, the CR-V among them, so a 2026 left on the lot can be the same car underneath.
- Look at certified pre-owned. The current-generation CR-V and Accord hybrids date to the 2023 model year, which widens the pool of recent used examples.
- Get the trade-in appraised first, so the number is settled before the new-car price is.
© Plaza Honda
Where Plaza Honda fits
Plaza Honda is part of Plaza Auto Mall, family-owned on Nostrand Avenue since 1975, and sells new, used and Certified Pre-Owned vehicles with a free CARFAX report on every used and CPO car. Trade-ins get a same-day appraisal or cash offer with no purchase required, and an online appraisal tool is available at www.plazahonda.com/trade-in. Financing pre-approval can start without a Social Security number or date of birth. Delivery is free within 25 miles, covering all five boroughs, and the service department offers pickup and drop-off across the city with factory-trained technicians and genuine OEM parts.
The takeaway
Honda’s August numbers show where the market is heading, and New York’s traffic makes the case for following it. If most of your miles are city miles, start with the hybrid version of whichever Honda fits your life, compare city ratings, and settle the trade-in before you negotiate.
