Honda says no decision yet on new hybrid car
02.21.2006, 08:21 PM
AFX News Limited


TOKYO (AFX) - Honda Motor Co said it has not come to a decision yet on whether it will introduce a new hybrid car, following a report that said the carmaker intends to start selling the hybrid version of its Fit subcompact worldwide as early as the year to March 2008.

'We haven't decided anything regarding a new hybrid car,' a spokesman for Honda said.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources, that the vehicle would likely become the first hybrid to be priced at less than 2 mln yen as Honda plans to sell it for around 1.4 mln yen having used a smaller motor and battery.

kiyori.ueno@xfn.com

 

I know a lot of FitFreak members have been asking for a hybrid version of the Fit. Maybe it will happen in 2008 when the new model is released.

Just doing a straight currency conversion of 1.4ml yen is about $12,000 US. A lot cheaper than current hybrids on sale now.

D

 

I also want to encourage Honda to build a super high-milage hybrid version of the Fit. Thank you.

 

Hybrid Fit would be really nice but it would sell for a lot more than
$12,000. It would probably be closer to 17000 - 18000. Remember, the Fit is supposed to be an entry level car below the Civic. Honda doesn't want it to eat into the sales of the new Civics and the Civic Hybrid. Which is why the US is Fit Fuel economy is so low.

 

Hybrid Fit would be really nice but it would sell for a lot more than
$12,000. It would probably be closer to 17000 - 18000. Remember, the Fit is supposed to be an entry level car below the Civic. Honda doesn't want it to eat into the sales of the new Civics and the Civic Hybrid. Which is why the US is Fit Fuel economy is so low.

I really hope that a Hybrid model Fit with improved CVT comes out in 2008 without raising the current price by more than $1000. It would be really nice if the price didn't change at all. Until it becomes officially announced it's just a dream.

 

I am not clear on your point: won't US Fits get 24/48 MPG with the 5 speed stick? I do agree that, on a cost basis alone, hybrids are not yet worth the extra price.

 

Honda's FIT site says the 5 speed base model will get 33/38 MPG. If this is per EPA, we can count on less in the real world. My 11 year old Prizm gets 28 MPG real world in the city (I don't push it & stay in 5th gear as much as I can). I could buy a new Ford Focus comparably equipped (and only slightly larger than a FIT for $12700 (with incentives), but MPG is likely worse. So, even at 13 or 14 K, the FIT will be competitve. I called my Honda dealer and told her I want to drive a base model when it comes in. I am looking forward to a test drive. I was impressed with the Focus, so I have a means of comparison. Will report back.

 

well, those are 2007 EPAs, so don't expec ttoo much of a drop. If it was 2005 or 2006 epa, i'd be disappointed since the 2006 civic sedan got 30/40 on 2006 score

 

Copped from http://news.com.com/Honda+may+be+wor...tml?tag=cd.top

By Reuters
<!-- February 22, 2006, 5:44 AM PT
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Published: February 22, 2006, 5:44 AM PST
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Honda Motor plans to sell a low-cost, hybrid version of its popular Fit subcompact car, according to a Japanese newspaper. Such a move would signal the car maker's long-term commitment to the fuel-sipping powertrain.
Japan's third-biggest car maker aims to sell the Fit hybrid as early as next year for about $11,800, or $1,700 more than the gasoline-only version, likely making it the world's least expensive hybrid by far, leading Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai said Wednesday.
The model could be launched in the business year starting April 2007 and would be sold globally, the newspaper said.
<!-- TEASE TO PHOTOS --><NEWSELEMENT> </NEWSELEMENT><!-- END TEASE TO PHOTOS -->A Honda representative denied that the company had made any decision on whether to hybridize the Fit, but added it had the technological wherewithal to mount its hybrid system, which twins an electric motor and a conventional engine to save fuel, on most of its vehicles.
Chief Executive Takeo Fukui has long said the price premium for a hybrid over a gasoline-only car needs to fall below $1,700 for the powertrain to go mainstream.
With hybrid systems still costing car makers--and customers--thousands of dollars, Fukui has said Honda had not made a strategic decision yet to produce the gasoline-electric vehicles in large volume, unlike rival Toyota Motor, which has aggressively promoted their proliferation.
A decision to offer a hybrid version of the mass-volume Fit--Honda's best-selling model in Japan and due to debut soon in the United States--would suggest the car maker is a step closer to committing to the powertrain longer-term.
Honda also sells hybrid versions of its two best-selling cars, the Accord and Civic, at a premium of around $2,500. Honda's hybrid-only Insight coupe was the first gasoline-electric car to be sold in the United States.
Honda is developing a smaller motor and battery to reduce the hybrid's cost and weight, the Nihon Keizai said. It will twin the hybrid unit with a one-liter engine for the Fit, the paper added.
Toyota also aims to halve the production and selling cost of a hybrid system. It currently sells many of its hybrid models at a premium of about $4,200.
Honda, Toyota and Ford Motor are so far the world's sole mass-producers of hybrid passenger cars. Others like General Motors argue that hybrid systems are most suitable for large vehicles due to the added weight from the extra components.
Compact cars are also generally fuel-efficient to begin with, and the extra cost of a hybrid car may be more difficult to justify, depending on how much can be saved at the pump.
The newspaper said the Fit hybrid would have fuel economy comparable to that of the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, which the auto makers advertise in Japan as getting around 82 miles per gallon to 84 miles per gallon.
The most fuel-efficient gasoline-only Fit, with a 1.3-liter engine and continuous variable transmission, gets 56 miles per gallon.

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