Honda Motor Co. said today that sales of a hybrid vehicle it plans to launch next spring will reach more than 100,000 units annually in North America and 200,000 units globally, the Detroit Free Press reports.

While Honda has not yet revealed the name or pricing of the vehicle, Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said the five-door, five-passenger vehicle will be priced less than the Toyota Prius, the world's best selling hybrid, and below Honda's Civic Hybrid.

"We believe our hybrid system is best suited for smaller vehicles where the fuel-efficiency gains are the greatest," Colliver said during a speech at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich. "The challenge, especially with small cars, is to bring the price down to where more people can afford it."

The current starting price for Honda's base Civic Hybrid is $22,600, according to Honda's Web site. Through July this year, Honda has sold 22,472 Civic Hybrids in the United States.

"Our goal for this new hybrid model is to make it affordable for a new generation of car buyers," Colliver said.

0 Comments