Honda Exec Says March Sales Show Consumer Is Back

Consumer confidence is coming back, John Mendel, executive vice president of auto sales at Honda Motor  told CNBC on Tuesday.

"March sales would indicate that that is the case," he said. "I think everybody has seen an uplift across the board. As long as consumer confidence stays and has a little bit of tailwind, things will continue to improve."

While Honda is offering a zero due at lease signing offer this spring, Mendel said that incentives tend to weaken the customers' value in the long-term.

"I think customers know Honda for being safe, clean, fun and a trusted investment," he said. "Our focus is more on the customer than it is really on the competition."

It's still unclear whether Honda benefited from Toyota's recalls. Whenever there is bad news for any one manufacturer, he said, it's bad news for the industry.

"It's difficult to say that anyone benefits necessarily from one competitor's ills," he said. "If you read the blogs, competitors are still very supportive of Toyota. I don't know to what degree any Toyota customers flock en masse to any other brand."