Hybrid Car Review

Honda announced, as of January 2009, they have sold 300,000 hybrids since November, 1999 when they introduced the Honda Insight.  That includes over 200,000 sales in the US alone.

Along with the record breaking Honda Insight (original), Honda has sold a Civic Hybrid and the Accord Hybrid (retired).  The new Honda Insight has begun sales in Japan and is due out in the US in the next couple of months.

Honda has had a mixed bag for hybrids so far.  The original Insight, while getting phenomenal fuel efficiency ratings, was never very practical since it was a two-seater.  The Honda Accord Hybrid emphasized power over fuel economy, but that message didn't really resonate with consumers and it was retired along with the original Insight.

The Civic Hybrid, while not as popular as the Prius, has shown consistent sales since it's introduction.  Small in size, but large enough to do most things while being fuel efficient enough to make a difference, the Civic Hybrid has been the most popular hybrid Honda has offered.

The new Insight has yet to be seen, but has certainly set things buzzing.  With a great fuel economy rating, which will put it in the top echelon of lists of the most fuel efficient cars, while being the cheapest hybrid offered, the Insight has done very well in Japan so far. 

Honda has been the second most successful at building and selling hybrids so far.  Unlike GM, who likes to talk about what they're going to do, Nissan and Ford who prefer the more conservative approach, Honda and Toyota have gone out and done it.  They took the risk on developing hybrids sooner rather than later and so far, it's paid off for them.

Press Release from Honda follows:

TOKYO, Japan, February 18, 2009 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that global sales of Honda hybrid vehicles passed the 300,000-unit mark on a cumulative basis at the end of January 2009, since the introduction of the first-generation Insight in November 1999.

Honda is now selling its hybrid models in approximately 40 countries around the world including the key markets of Japan, North America and Europe.

Honda Hybrid Sales by Model/Region (as of the end of January 2009)

Model	Region	Start of Sales	Cumulative Unit Sales
Insight	Japan	Nov. 1999	2,340
	North America	Dec. 1999	14,288
	Europe	Mar. 2000	392
	Total		17,020
Civic Hybrid	Japan	Dec. 2001	22,899
	North America	Mar. 2002	191,493
	Europe	May. 2003	34,757
	Asia/Oceania	Feb. 2004	5,514
	China	Nov. 2007	280
	Others	May. 2006	306
	Total		255,249
Accord Hybrid	North America	Dec. 2004	28,471
	Total		28,471
Total Unit Sales of Honda Hybrid Models			300,740

Honda began sales in Japan February 6, 2009, of the all-new Insight hybrid vehicle, a five-door hatchback model featuring a lightweight, compact hybrid system that achieves exceptional fuel economy at an affordable price. Sales of the all-new Insight is scheduled to begin in Europe and North America in March and April, respectively. Honda set annual sales targets of approximately 60,000 units in Japan, more than 30,000 units in Europe and approximately 100,000 units in North America. The annual global sales target is approximately 200,000 units.

Honda will further enhance its hybrid model lineup with the introduction of the all-new sporty hybrid vehicle, based on the CR-Z design concept model, in 2010, in the effort to achieve full-scale market penetration of hybrid vehicles.