Signaling Honda Motor Co.’s long-term commitment to the fuel-sipping powertrain, Nihon Keizai -- a Japanese daily – has reported that the company plans to sell a low-cost hybrid car, patterned after its popular Fit subcompact, according to a Reuters report. With a possible launch coming in the business year starting April 2007, Honda aims to sell the Fit hybrid for around $11,790, or about $1,690 more than the gasoline-only version, likely making it the world's first hybrid to cost less than $16,840, according to the report. A spokesman denied Honda had made any decision on whether to add a hybrid powertrain to 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. The newspaper report also added that Fit hybrid would have fuel economy comparable to that of the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, which the automakers advertise in Japan as getting around 82 miles per gallon.
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