Honda (HMC) To Wheel Out Brand New 2018 Honda Fit Shortly

Honda Motor Company (NYSE:HMC) has recently updated the third generation 5-door subcompact Honda Fit in its 2018 model year. Apart from changes in the model’s outer experience, substantial upgradation has been done in its technology and features.

All Fit models already offer driver-assistive and safety features. Some are Honda sensing suite of advanced safety and driver assistive technologies including Collision Mitigation Braking (CMBS) and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM). This makes Fit the only car in America to acquire such state-of-the-art features under this segment.

The added exterior features of 2018 Fit model comprises an updated and sportier styling, including a lower and wider appearance, a more advanced two-piece chrome and piano black grilles along with new wheel finishes. The new model consists of an improved front grille, featuring better-integrated headlights. Besides, the four-wheeler displays a black interior with a unique cross-hatched fabric for the seats as well as the door trim.

Under the technology and features section, the 2018 Fit offered in LX, EX and EX-L trims has a redesigned driver’s meter with a large analog speedometer and digital tachometer. The models having Honda sensing suite will receive a 4.2-inch Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) Driver Information Interface (DII) color display, offering additional selectable information including available turn-by-turn directions. Additionally, the audio system on EX trims includes Honda's 7-inch display touchscreen interface with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and a 180-watt six-speaker audio system.

The 2018’s new model continues to hold an EPA fuel-economy rating of 29/36/31 (city/highway/combined) for the manual transmission models, 33/40/36 for the LX trim with CVT and 31/36/33 for the EX, EX-L and Sport trim with CVT. Models with this rating provide a quick and smooth acceleration while improving fuel efficiency with a wide ratio range and low internal friction.

Apart from this updated 2018 Fit model, the company is set to launch an all- new 2018 Honda Accord. The unveiling is scheduled this Jul 14 (read more: Honda’s 10th Generation Accord Sedan Debuts on July 14).

Price Performance

Honda’s shares have outperformed the Zacks categorized Automotive-Foreign industry in the last one year. The company’s shares have picked up 8.3% compared with the industry’s 7.2% appreciation.

Zacks Rank & Stocks Pick

Honda currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some top-ranked companies in the auto space are Peugeot SA (OTC:PUGOY) , Daimler AG (OTC:DDAIF) and Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) AG (OTC:VLKAY) . Peugeot sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), whereas Daimler and Volkswagen carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Peugeot has an expected long-term growth of 12.3%.

Daimler has an expected long-term growth of 2.8%.

Volkswagen has an expected long-term growth of 17.5%.

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