Honda Executive Says Automaker Will Launch Hybrid Hatchback in April 2009
By Scott Doggett August 13, 2008
Right, a spy shot of the coming hybrid.
A top Honda Motor Co. executive said today that the company's new gas-electric hybrid hatchback be available in April 2009.
The five-passenger hatchback will be priced below the Prius, its prime competitor, as well as the hybrid version of Honda's Civic, Richard Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said today at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich.
Colliver's comment regarding the vehicle's price confirms our earlier report that the vehicle will be available for less than $20,000. The Civic Hybrid starts at $22,600, while the Prius has a base price of $21,500.
Colliver said Honda wants to make the hybrid affordable to a new generation of buyers, but it is not specifically trying to match Prius sales. Toyota sold more than 181,000 Priuses last year, and so far this year it has sold more than 106,000.
Honda has not released fuel economy figures for its new hybrid. The Prius gets an estimated 45 miles per gallon on the highway and 48 in the city.
Honda expects to build about 200,000 of the hatchbacks globally, with about 100,000 targeted for import into North America, Colliver said. Honda currently has no plans to build hybrids, including the Civic sedan hybrid, in the United States, he said.
The hatchback is slightly smaller than the Civic, the third best-selling car in the United States through July with 234,086 vehicles sold. The Civic trails only the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord sedans.
Colliver said the new hatchback will be lighter than the Civic. He said a hybrid-only model, instead of a hybrid for an existing model like the Civic, will appeal to a broad segment of buyers.
"For consumers who are interested in fuel economy and the environment having a specific individual product is important to them," Colliver said.
Colliver is an industry veteran of 45 years, including the past 15 with Honda. He said Honda also plans to move production of its Ridgeline pickup truck to its plant in Lincoln, Ala., to free up production space at its Alliston, Ontario, assembly plant for additional Civics. The move is planned for the third quarter.
He said Honda's decision not to stray from its focus on small, fuel-efficient cars is bearing fruit in the era of $4 per gallon gasoline.
Honda is the only major automaker whose vehicle sales are up through July. They increased 3.2 percent.
"Fuel efficiency is one of our core values," Colliver said. "Small efficient vehicles are not short term strategies for Honda. They are part of a fundamental commitment that goes back to Honda's entry into the auto industry in the 1970s."
Honda, which already has the most fuel-efficient lineup in America, announced in May that it will sell the new hybrid-only Prius competitor in the U.S., Japan and Europe starting in early 2009. It also announced that it will build a new hybrid version of its Fit subcompact, but hasn't said if it will be sold in North America.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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'"For consumers who are interested in fuel economy and the environment having a specific individual product is important to them," Colliver said.'
In other words, it's about the 'image' that they are interested in fuel economy and the environment. A regular Civic with the same performance, fuel economy, and emissions would suit them fine otherwise (still saving just as much fuel, keeping pollution as low as possible).
Good to see that Honda's caught on to Toyota's PR tactics- it doesn't matter as much that the vehicle has the best fuel economy or is the greenest, just that it conveys that perception clearly, and thereby transfers that to the driver.. Using a platform that's already established and not unique just doesn't quite get it done, I guess.
(Sorry, I'm shallow too, and I admit it. It still bugs me sometimes.)
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