New Incoming Rounds in Hybrid War
June 18, 2009
By Bill Visnic
When gasoline prices plunged early this year, sales of hybrid-electric vehicles went South, too.
Quickly.
The timing may be unfortunate, but major hybrid players Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. launched new hybrids this spring -- and both seem determined to grub out a larger portion of the yo-yoing hybrid market. That battle, the latest summertime jump for gasoline prices and the U.S. auto market's continuing gyrations are once again cranking up the attention on hybrids.
Was it because of still relatively low gasoline prices that Honda last week looked at its shoes and admitted it probably won't sell the 100,000 North American copies of the all-new Insight it confidently predicted prior to the all-new hybrid's U.S. launch? Or is it the presence of Toyota's heavily reengineered 2010 Prius, with markedly better fuel-economy ratings and aggressive pricing?
All of the above. American Honda executive vice president John Mendel wasn't shy about calling out low gasoline prices and the Prius, but also said the slumping economy is playing a role in the downgrade of Insight sales targets. Mendel said the Insight might hit 60,000 units in its first full-year U.S. sales.
Immediately following that news was Honda president Takeo Fukui's statement that the company was considering a couple of hybrids cheaper than the $19,800 starting price of the Insight -- this in addition to the hybrid version of the subcompact Fit, which Honda already confirmed it will build.
Honda's renewed commitment to hybrid expansion made all the more curious General Motors Corp.'s announcement it is suspending production of the hybrid version of the popular Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan. There are so many '09 Malibu hybrids on the ground GM won't make a '10 model and isn't likely to restart production anytime soon, although there still will be fleet-market production.
The loss of Malibu hybrid for retail customers comes as GM is set to wind down its Saturn division and transfer ownership to the Penske Automotive Group. Saturn has been GM's dominant purveyor of hybrid models -- it currently offers hybrid variants of the Vue crossover and Aura sedan, the Malibu's platform-mate -- and the potential for continuing the hybrids under Penske ownership is unclear, pending the final details of the transferal of Saturn to Penske, Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor reported.
Photos:
1. 2010 Honda Insight and 2010 Toyota Prius square off in the U.S.'s most prominent hybrid-car battle this year, coming amidst fluctuating gasoline prices and a sputtering U.S. economy.
2. Honda President Takeo Fukui introduces the production version of the Insight at the Paris Motor Show last fall.
Posted by Bill Visnic at 8:51 AM under Analysis , Business , Companies , GM , Technology , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Meanwhile, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is denting their market share, With the Malibu Hybrid parked for now, those potential buyers will more likely consider the Fusion rather than the Insight or Prius.
A Fiesta Hybrid and/or Diesel for North America must surely be in consideration-all the more reason for Honda wanting to put hybrid roots down, deep and fast.
Posted by: fulcrumb | June 18, 2009 at 7:18 PM
GM has a knack for making the wrong decisions at the wrong time. When 'green-ness' is at its all-time high, gas prices are climbing, and the company is hungering for sales, it suspends production of the most popular hybrid in its entire line?!!??
Truly unbelievable.
Posted by: billddrummer | June 19, 2009 at 9:49 AM