Honda unveils cheapest hybrid, the Insight

06 February 2009

Japanese automaker Honda introduced yesterday the cheapest hybrid on the market, the Insight, starting at 1.89 million yen ($21,000) in Japan, hoping to turn around sluggish sales battered by the global downturn. Moreover, it wants to sell the vehicle at a price below $20,000 in the US.

"We want to sell it for below $20,000," Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo told a news conference to launch the Insight.

Even Honda Motor Co officials admitted the timing was tough for the Insight gas-electric hybrid, which hits showrooms in the middle of a devastating slump, especially in North America that's the main target market.

Also, oil prices have tumbled from their peak last July, detracting from the appeal of gas-sipping hybrids. Insight gets as much as 30 kilometers a liter, according to Honda.

"If the Insight had gone on sale a half year earlier, it would have been such a hot-seller," Norio Ano, who oversees auto matters at Honda, told the press.

Details of overseas pricing are still undecided. But it's cheaper than Toyota Motor Corp's Prius, the top-selling hybrid, which sells for $22,000 in the US and 2.3 million yen in Japan.