Honda: Would Mull Counter Measures Vs Cheaper Toyota Prius

SUZUKA, Japan (Dow Jones)--Honda Motor Co. (7267.TO) would have to consider counter measures if Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO) sets competitive prices for its Prius hybrid as recently reported, a company executive said Wednesday.

Honda launched its new Insight hybrid in February in Japan and is rolling out the model in the U.S. and other overseas countries.

The company has received orders that were more than triple the hybrid's monthly sales target a month after its Feb. 6 launch in Japan as the prices, which are lower than those of the current Prius, attracted customers looking for cheaper gas-sipping car amid the economic slump.

Yasuhiro Wada, a Honda general manager, said the company continues to receive solid orders for the Insight. As of Monday, orders for the new hybrid totaled more than 21,000 in Japan, more than four times the model's monthly sales target of 5,000.

Honda set the lower limit on Insight's prices at Y1.89 million, about 20% cheaper than the bottom price of the current Prius.

The Nikkei recently reported that Toyota will set the prices of the new Prius at Y2.05 million-Y2.50 million, lower than the current Y2.33 million-Y3.34 million and when it launches the new model it will also continue to sell the current one by lowering the bottom price to Y1.89 million to compete with the Insight.

"If they could do that, it would be a threat," Norio Ano, the head of the Insight product project, said at a press conference.

"We would have to consider something" to stay competitive, he said.
He added that Honda executives would order Ano and his team members to further cut costs if the report is true.

Toyota has said nothing has been decided on the prices of the new Prius and whether to continue to sell the current Prius.

-By Yoshio Takahashi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; yoshio.takahashi@dowjones.com

Source;
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090325-704087.html

Honda says to raise Insight output as orders climb

TOKYO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co plans to produce more of its new Insight hybrid cars from April, having received orders for almost three times its monthly sales target for the gasoline-electric model it launched on Feb. 6 in Japan, a top official said on Tuesday.

Honda plans to launch the Insight, its first attempt at a low-cost, high-volume hybrid, in Europe and the United States over the next two months.

Japan's No.2 automaker is targeting global sales of 200,000 Insights a year, with half of that in North America and 60,000 in Japan, hoping to rival Toyota Motor Corp as a leader in the hybrid segment.

"The response has been overwhelming," Hiroshi Kobayashi, deputy chief operating officer for Honda's domestic operations, told a small group of reporters at a test-drive event in Tokyo.

"We will have to increase production plans," he said. But he stopped short of saying how much it could expand output given possible supply limits for hybrid components.

Customers in Japan will have to wait at least one month for an Insight if they ordered one today, he said.
Honda is positioning the Insight as its fifth "global car" alongside the Civic, Accord, Fit and CR-V cars, which collectively make up about two-thirds of its car sales.

Kobayashi said half of the Insight sales so far were to customers switching from other brands, including premium import brands and Toyota's hybrid leader, the Prius. The Insight starts at 1.89 million yen ($19,980) in Japan.

"What's unique about the Insight is that we're attracting a broad range of drivers, from (660cc) minivehicles to sedans to minivans," Kobayashi said.

While cautioning that the Japanese car market remained tough -- total vehicle sales in January fell 20 percent from the year before -- Kobayashi said Honda aimed to sell as many cars in the business year from April as the 570,000 to 580,000 units he expected it to sell in the 12 months to March 31.

Toyota is due to launch its third-generation Prius in May, pricing it slightly higher than the current version, which starts at 2.3 million yen in Japan. Local media have reported widely that Toyota would take the unusual step of selling the current model at a discount alongside the new version to compete with Honda's Insight.

A Toyota spokeswoman said the company had made no such decision yet. ($1=94.59 Yen) (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source;
http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUKT37087520090224?sp=true

Honda Opens New Hybrid Site

Honda has opened a new "Words of Hybrid" site, featuring the all-new Insight Concept premiered at the Paris Motor Show on October 2, 2008. The site provides details of the Insight Concept and a history of Honda's hybrid development.

Follow the link;

http://world.honda.com/Hybrid/ Then click on the LAUNCH

Honda Insight hybrid (2009) spy video

Click this link to watch the video;
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Video/Search-Results/Video/Secret-New-Cars/Honda-Insight-hybrid-2009-spy-video/#Video

By Ben Pulman
25 September 2008 17:00

Honda will show off its Insight concept at the Paris motor show, but CAR has caught the production version hot-weather testing in the States. An unveiling is scheduled for the LA Auto Show in November, and Honda is promising the new Insight will be the world's most affordable hybrid when it goes on sale in spring 2009. Honda hopes to shift 200,000 Insights each year, along with many more Jazz, CR-Z and Civic hybrid models.

10 vehicles that will redefine the auto industry in the next year

2010 Honda Insight
Toyota Prius facing off with the Honda Insight
2010 Chevrolet Camaro
2010 Toyota Venza

BY MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

From hybrids to big pickups, from luxury cars to thrifty compacts, a handful of new vehicles that debut over the next 12 months may shape the future of automakers around the world.

They come in all shapes and sizes. Some break new ground for their manufacturers. Others aim to reassert companies' dominance in market segments they created.

From icons like the Ford F-150 and Toyota Prius to newcomers like the Lincoln MKT and Chevrolet Traverse, they are the most interesting and important new cars to watch as the 2009 model year kicks into high gear and model year 2010 begins.

2010 Honda Insight

The five-passenger gasoline-electric Insight is Honda's attempt to remind buyers that it's a leader in hybrid cars. Honda was the first automaker to sell a hybrid in the United States when the previous two-seat Insight went on sale in 1999, but the flashy Toyota Prius quickly eclipsed Honda's mundane Civic and Accord hybrids.

Honda aims to change that with the 2010 Insight, which has the same hatchback profile as the Prius. Honda promises a base price "significantly below" other hybrids when it goes on sale in the spring of next year.

Other vehicles in the article;

2009 Audi A4

2009 Chevrolet Traverse

2010 Chevrolet Camaro

2009 Dodge Ram

2009 Ford F-150

2010 Lincoln MKT

2009 Toyota Venza

2010 Toyota Prius

2009 Mazda 6

Source and for the rest of the article;

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/COL14/809110397/1014/BUSINESS01

Honda’s Insight looks a lot like the Prius, but that’s just pure coincidence - Huh?

To say that the new Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius look alike is an understatement, however how's this;

Any resemblance between Hondas new Insight, set to go on sale next April, and the Toyota Prius is pure coincidence, according to Honda.

Honda plans to unveil the Insight at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show on Oct. 2 and released images of the vehicle earlier this month. Immediately, automotive publications dubbed the Insight a "Prius fighter" or "Prius killer" -- in part because its design reflects the distinctive egg-shaped Toyota Prius. But Honda spokesman Chuck Schifsky disputes the comparison.

It was done that way because it was the most aerodynamic design, and we were going for fuel economy," Schifsky said.

Schifsky says that the design for the Insight was mainly influenced by the FCX Clarity. The production version of the Honda CR-Z sport hybrid car will also look similar.

Source;
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080914/BUSINESS01/809140416/1014
Orig. Source;
http://www.egmcartech.com/2008/09/15/hondas-insight-looks-a-lot-like-the-prius-but-thats-just-pure-coincidence/#more-25896

Honda's New Global Hybrid gets a Release Date of April 2009

It's said that the 'Prius Fighter' above will be unveilled at this October's Paris Auto Show. It is rumored to show up in dealer lots by April of 2009 and leave it to Toyota to make it interesting by having their next gen Prius displayed at the next Detroit Auto Show in January. Honda plans to undercut its rival in the pricing wars with its hybrid coming in at a base price of less than $19,000, a few thousand less than the larger Prius. Both models will use nickel metal hydride batteries (for now) as opposed to the latest lithium ion units in an effort to keep their costs down. Both should also score fuel mileage numbers somewhere in the 50-60 mpg range. For its part, Honda is planning to build 200,000 units of its new hybrid annually, with 100,000 earmarked for the U.S. Let the (fuel-saving) games begin!

Source; http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/13/hondas-prius-killing-hybrid-gets-a-date-april-2009/

2009 Honda Global Hybrid Illustration

Vtec.net has a illustration from the Japanese magazine 'Mag X' stating that this is what the new Global Hybrid is going to look like. Surprising considering everyone is expecting a hatch back. I have learn't over the years that these magazine illustrations tend to be more accurate than not.