Honda is now challenging Toyota’s hybrid crown with its new Insight, a five-passenger gasoline-electric hybrid that will get more than 17 Km per liter. That is little less than the 21 Km per liter Toyota’s new Prius can get. But Honda Insight is far cheaper than the new Prius. In fact, you can get the joy of hybrid technology for under $20,000.
Last month Honda Motor Company launched its all-new Honda Insight Hybrid car at a price tag of 1,890,000 Japanese Yen (US$19,800). And it ranked as the 10th best selling car in Japan last month bagging over 15,000 orders, outselling Toyota Prius. Honda was however able to deliver only 4,906 units.
This move by Honda would force the market leader, Toyota, to bring down its prices, leading to a price war in hybrid cars. Toyota is planning to release the next-generation version of Prius this May, at a much lower price. This will be a good sign for car buyers, as they will have more and more choices for fuel efficient hybrid vehicles at affordable prices.
How Honda achieved this feat? Honda Insight undercuts the Prius by several thousand dollars. It is also around $4,000 cheaper than the Honda Civic Hybrid! First of all, the Insight shares parts with other Honda models. Secondly, the Insight’s main source of power is a lightweight gasoline engine that is assisted by smaller batteries, as opposed to the more complicated hybrid system used in the Prius. This greatly reduces the manufacturing costs, but gives the Insight lower fuel efficiency than the Prius.
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