UPDATE 1-Honda to reduce U.S. production of Odyssey, Pilot

(Adds Accord production details)

DETROIT, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co (7267.T)(HMC.N) said on Monday it plans to reduce U.S. production of its Odyssey minivan and Pilot SUV by 22,000 units between November and March.

The Japanese automaker also plans to decrease imports of its Accord sedans by shifting some production to the United States, a Honda spokesman said.

Both Pilot and Odyssey are built at Honda plant in Alabama, which has an annual capacity of 300,000 units.

Honda built 314,000 vehicles in its Alabama plant last year, the spokesman said.

Honda's U.S. sales were down 1 percent through the first nine months of 2008, the lowest sales decline of any major automaker.

Sales of the Pilot, the largest SUV in Honda's line-up, has declined nearly 17 percent this year, while sales of Odyssey were down 14 percent, as U.S. consumers shunned large vehicles amid high gas prices.

Honda, with its car-heavy line-up, has benefited most from the shift in U.S. consumer taste toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Honda also said its Marysville, Ohio, plant will increase production of four-cylinder Accord sedans in mid-2009, decreasing imports of Accords from its Tokyo-adjacent Saitama factory in Japan.

By mid-2009, the majority of V-6 Accord sedan production will shift to its facility in Lincoln, Alabama, from the Marysville plant.

Honda had previously announced it is consolidating production of its Ridgeline pickup truck to its plant in Lincoln, Alabama, in order to free up production capacity to make more of its strong-selling Civics. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta, editing by Leslie Gevirtz/Jeffrey Benkoe)