Honda Insight Sales Dwindling, Company to Release Sporty CR-Z Hybrid and 50 Plus MPG Hybrid

Honda is a company that has had widespread success with many of its hybrid vehicle offerings. They launched the world's first hybrid automobile ever called the Honda insight. The vehicle was launched more than a decade ago and was met with great sales success.

Shortly after the Insight came to market, Toyota introduced their first hybrid automobile, the Toyota Prius. The Prius was an immediate hit and sales have been strong ever since. Through several generations, the Prius remained on the top in sales figures for hybrid vehicles.

With the introduction of the new Honda Insight hybrid last year, the company had hoped it would become the best selling hybrid vehicle in the world. Initially, the new insight sold very well. Sales numbers last year totaled 130,445 units from the vehicle introduction in February through the end of the year. Despite high sales, the Insight struggled here in the U.S. posting only 20,572 units sold.

Honda set an initial sales target for this year, 2010, at 200,000 units worldwide. However, the company is now admitting that they are unlikely to reach the target. According to the company, they had expected to sell 90,000 units in the U.S. last year but fell well short of their goal. Thus, their expectations for this year have been reduced.

Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo made an announcement about what the company's believes caused the reduced sales numbers and lack of popularity here in the U.S. Konda said, "I think we compromised too much on size in pursuing fuel efficiency."

His statement likely is true as the much larger Toyota Prius sells significantly better here in the U.S. than the Insight does. Though Toyota also focused primarily on fuel economy, the vehicle's larger size makes its capable of carrying five adults in comfort and puts it right into the family sedan category.

Honda has announced that they intend to bring several more hybrids to market within the next few years including the sport Honda CR-Z hybrid and a yet to be name hybrid which will offer fuel economy that is better than the Toyota Prius, which achieves nearly 50 miles per gallon.

Even with sales of the Honda Insight lower than expected, the company plans more hybrids. Hybrids have seen an increased market share for the last 5 years now and numerous automakers offer hybrid vehicles. Additionally, both Toyota and Honda have plans calling for several more hybrid models within the next few years. The hybrid segment is steadily growing and becoming increasingly more competitive each and every year.

Source: Bloomberg.com