New Honda Insight Debuts in USA Today
Mar 24, 2009 – A previous post has Toyota‘s press release concerning the third generation Prius hybrid. Today Honda is introducing their newly redesigned Insight hybrid.
Here is the Honda press release: We’ve been calling the Insight affordable since we launched this blog back in October. Now we can finally let you in on just how affordable the Insight really is. (Hint: Does under twenty-thousand dollars work for you?)
Let’s end the suspense: The all-new 2010 Honda Insight goes on-sale March 24 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $19,800 for the Insight LX. That’s right, I said on sale March 24-a little ahead of schedule. And yes, you can now own a fun and efficient hybrid for less than $20K.
Dick Colliver, our executive vice president, said, “The all-new Honda Insight brings the cost-of-entry for hybrid technology into reach for an entirely new car-shopping audience. In addition to making good environmental sense, hybrid technology is now entering a new era where it can also make financial sense for a broader range of customers.”
If you want to add features like alloy wheels, cruise control, steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, an upgraded audio system with six speakers, a USB audio interface, and much more, you can upgrade to the Insight EX with an MSRP of $21,300.
The New York Times article by Hiroko Tabuchi is excerpted here: Costing just shy of $20,000, the Honda Insight promises to let drivers respond to both of the leading crises of our day: the environment and the recession.
If the Insight’s introduction in Japan is any indication, Toyota should be worried. The car went on sale here on Feb. 6, and orders have soared, reaching 18,000 in just the first three weeks – topping Prius’s current sales. In fact, the Insight pushed Prius out of the top-10-selling cars for February.
“I have people asking about hybrids that I never had before,” said Tsuguhito Tokita, a Honda dealer in Tokyo. “With this price, it’s easy to recommend to anyone.”
If Honda makes inroads in the United States, the world’s largest market for hybrids, it could force the market leader, the Toyota Motor Corporation, to bring down its prices. Japanese news media have reported that Toyota, which controls 70 percent of the American hybrid market, will introduce a cheaper hybrid model with a smaller engine in 2011 – in part, reportedly, because of the Insight’s success.
Sales of hybrids have been hit hard by the global economic crisis. After several years of strong growth in Prius sales, Toyota had virtually no increase in 2008 from the previous year, as the overall auto market struggled.
But so far the Insight has been a bright spot for Honda in an otherwise dismal year of plunging sales. Toyota plans to lower the sticker price of the Prius, according to Japan’s largest business daily, Nikkei. The automaker has refused to confirm the report.
The market for hybrids could be headed for a huge expansion. The development of cheaper technology, economies of scale and more government subsidies for environmentally friendly vehicles could take what was a niche technology into the mainstream.
The Insight could bring about a big turnaround for Honda, which tried selling hybrids for a decade without much success. In fact, it discontinued a previous Insight model in 2006, believing consumers found hybrids too expensive. But when sales of Toyota’s Prius rose as oil prices spiked, Honda quickly changed course.
Instead of the more complicated hybrid system used in the Prius, the Insight’s main source of power is a lightweight gasoline engine that is assisted by smaller batteries. That greatly reduces manufacturing costs, but gives the Insight lower fuel efficiency than the Prius – 43 miles per gallon on the highway compared with 45 miles per gallon for the Prius. The Insight also shares parts with other Honda models, which helps the carmaker keep costs to a minimum.
Honda has also struck a chord with an overhaul of the car’s shape. One reason its previous hybrids failed to take off, analysts say, was that they did not come in distinctive shapes.
But Honda’s new Insight looks remarkably like – well, Toyota’s triangular Prius, which has become synonymous with hybrid technology. Analysts say that should help sales. The global economic slowdown could be an advantage for the Insight, at least over the Prius.
Whatever the outcome of the new hybrid race, it is certain to reinforce the dominance of Japanese automakers in eco-friendly cars. Unlike their American counterparts, Japanese automakers have long made energy efficiency a priority, teaming up with Japan’s electronics conglomerates to develop high-powered batteries.
Honda, which gets its batteries from Panasonic and Sanyo, has also invested heavily in battery production, setting up a company with a battery maker, GS Yuasa, to produce lithium-ion batteries. That move came partly because Honda was nervous about obtaining batteries from the same company as its archrival, Toyota. The greater capacity would allow Honda to introduce hybrid versions of its other models.
A string of auto companies worldwide, from Ford to start-ups like Tesla Motors, have announced or introduced hybrids, plug-ins or electric cars. Others are hurrying research into fuel cells and other alternatives. A technological breakthrough could still turn the market on its head, analysts say.
