Honda Insight

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Honda announced today a new premiere for the 2008 Paris International Auto Show - the Honda Insight concept. The Honda Insight will go on sale in the U.S next spring and will be an affordable family hybrid car.

The Honda Insight will be a 5-door hatchback, smaller than the Civic, featuring many exterior styling cues from the FCX Clarity. The Honda Insight is based on a new platform, that features a control unit and battery for the IMA system mounted beneath the boot space.

The Honda Insight features the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid technology that results in a high level of affordability.

The Honda Insight price will be announced at a later date.

Honda Press Release:



Honda Insight Concept Hybrid Vehicle to Debut at Paris International Auto Show
Concept to show styling direction of new, more affordable hybrid vehicle


Honda will reveal a concept version of its new small hybrid vehicle, to be named Insight, at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show, October 2, the company announced today.



The new Honda Insight Concept shares styling cues with the Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle and will provide an early look at the highly-anticipated five-passenger hybrid vehicle.

Going on sale in the U.S. next spring, the all-new purpose-built Honda Insight will come to market at a price significantly below hybrids available today. From this unique position in the marketplace, the Insight will advance the affordability and accessibility of hybrid technology to a new generation of buyers.

"The original Honda Insight pioneered hybrid

technology in the U.S. and remains a symbol of Honda's commitment to innovative technology and fuel efficiency," said Takeo Fukui, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. CEO. "This new Honda Insight will break new ground as an affordable hybrid within the reach of customers who want great fuel economy and great value."

The Honda Insight Concept defines a new stage in the evolution of hybrid technology by utilizing a more cost-efficient version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist™ (IMA™) hybrid technology,

resulting in a new level of affordability for hybrid customers worldwide. Evoking the innovative styling cues first seen in the FCX Clarity, the Insight Concept is designed with a low center of gravity and a generous five-passenger cabin, offering the kind of driving pleasure and roomy interior that customers have come to expect from Honda. While the Honda Insight Concept's aerodynamic design clearly identifies its fuel efficient purpose, its five-door access and folding rear seats speak to functionality that is designed to meet the needs of customers with an active lifestyle. The Honda Insight Concept is a small, fuel efficient hybrid car that delivers big style and functionality with a healthy dose of fun.

Honda achieved a significant cost reduction in Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) components which should make Honda Insight the most affordable hybrid vehicle to date. The production Insight will be offered as a five-door, five-passenger hatchback. Numerous technologies, including a function to assist customers in achieving more fuel efficient driving habits, will be applied to achieve a further improvement in real world fuel efficiency. With its affordable price, the new hybrid vehicle will represent the best value in its segment. Along with the Civic Hybrid, the new vehicle will be produced at an expanded hybrid vehicle production line at the Suzuka factory in Japan.

The Insight is expected to have annual global sales of 200,000 units per year - approximately 100,000 in North America. Following the launch of the new Honda Insight, Honda also plans to introduce another unique sporty hybrid vehicle based on the CR-Z, first shown at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. All together, Honda's global sales of hybrids should increase to approximately 500,000 units a year, or more than 10 percent of its total worldwide annual automobile sales.

The original Honda Insight was introduced in December 1999 as America's first gas-electric hybrid car. The first vehicle to break the 70-mpg fuel economy barrier, Insight was designed from the ground up to demonstrate the ultimate potential for fuel-economy in a two-seater subcompact automobile.

A leader in the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient mobility products, Honda introduced the first low-emission gasoline vehicles; America's first gas-electric hybrid car and the world's first EPA-certified hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the FCX. In 2007, Honda was named "greenest automaker" by the Union of Concerned Scientists for the fourth straight time.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it will display the concept model of its all-new Honda Insight dedicated hybrid vehicle at the 2008 Paris Motor Show (October 2–19; Press Days: October 2–3). Honda is introducing the advanced Insight to meet the needs of customers in a new era of widespread demand for hybrid vehicles.

Insight Concept

The name Insight was chosen to denote Honda's "insight" into a new era in which hybrid vehicles come within reach of most car buyers.

A five-door, five-passenger compact hatchback, the new Honda Insight will feature an innovative new platform in which the battery and control unit are located beneath the cargo space for exceptional utility and a light, pleasing driving feel. The new Insight features Honda's innovative, highly efficient compact hybrid powerplant, in which a gasoline engine serves as the main power source and the electric motor assists when extra power is needed, such as during passing or start-up and acceleration.

The new Honda Insight also features a new driving support function that helps drivers make the most of its exceptional fuel economy to achieve more efficient, environmentally responsible driving.

Thanks to reductions in the weight and size of the Insight's key components, Honda has also achieved significant cost reductions.

Honda plans to introduce the production version of the all-new Insight to the markets in Japan, Europe and North America in spring 2009 and projects annual global sales of 200,000 units.

At the Paris Motor Show, Honda will also display the FCX Clarity, its fuel cell automobile that offers the ultimate in clean performance, producing absolutely no CO2 emissions in operation; and a design study model of the CR-Z lightweight sports hybrid vehicle, scheduled to be released in the near future.

Honda has revealed a concept of its affordable family hybrid car, to be displayed at the Paris Motor Show next month. The production version goes on sale in Spring 2009, and will be priced significantly lower than any other hybrid car on the market, making petrol-electric technology accessible to more people.

The car will be named Insight, reviving the name of the 1999 hybrid coupe – the first production hybrid car to be sold in Europe.

Takeo Fukui, President and CEO of Honda Motor Co. said: “The original Honda Insight launched in 1999, was the pioneer of hybrid technology in Europe and remains an iconic symbol of Honda’s environmental innovation.

“This new Honda Insight will also break new ground by providing an affordable hybrid to an expanded number of customers craving great fuel economy and great value.”

More information on the car will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show, but here’s what we know about the new Honda Insight at this time:

Positioning

• It will be significantly lower in price to any other hybrid on the market
• By offering a more affordable hybrid that’s accessible to more people, Honda hopes to attract a new section of the market to petrol-electric technology – those car buyers who have never considered a hybrid car before
• The price will be announced at a later date

Specification
• The car will be a 5-door family hatchback, capable of carrying five people
• It will be smaller than the Honda Civic Hybrid
• The Honda Insight is based on a completely new platform
• The car takes many exterior styling cues from the FCX Clarity, Honda’s hydrogen-powered fuel cell car, which is currently being leased to customers in the United States
• The control unit and battery for the IMA system are mounted beneath the boot space to give the Insight both a low center of gravity and the practicality of a conventionally-powered hatchback.
• The Honda Insight has a unique function to assist more fuel efficient driving – helping drivers to maximise their real world fuel consumption

Predicted sales
• Honda aims to sell 200,000 Honda Insights a year, globally
• Over the next few years, Honda will also launch a sporty hybrid (based on CR-Z), a Jazz Hybrid and a new Civic Hybrid
• With these four hybrid cars, Honda will sell over 500,000 hybrids globally per year
• 10 per cent of global sales will be hybrid by 2010

Production
• Production costs will be significantly reduced. Honda has further advanced the equipment and processes used to produce the electric motor.
• A new production line will be added to the Suzuka factory, in Japan, to double the per hour production capacity

The 1999 Honda Insight
• The first Insight was a two-seater hybrid coupe launched in 1999
• It was the first mass produced hybrid to be sold in Europe
• Honda sold 17,000 Insights worldwide and 400 cars in Europe

Honda hybrid sales
• Total sales of Honda hybrid cars in Europe, 2000: 208
Total sales of Honda hybrid cars in Europe, 2007: 10,507

More on the Honda Insight

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Source: Honda