Strong early sales in Japan prompt Honda to increase Insight production
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2010 Honda Insight
Since Honda started taking orders for the new Insight in Japan earlier this month, dealers have tripled the original sales target. As a result, the company has decided to crank up production starting in April to meet the demand for the new hybrid. Honda had been projecting world-wide Insight sales of 200,000 a year with 100,000 going to the U.S. and Canada. It remains to be seen how strong U.S. demand will be, especially with a new Prius arriving shortly after the Insight. The Insight's price should undercut the Prius by several thousand dollars, although it's also a considerably smaller car than the Toyota. In addition to price, the Insight's Fit-based chassis should also have an advantage in driving dynamics, which may appeal to some drivers more. The Insight goes on sale in the United States on April 22.
Related:
Gallery: ABG First Drive: 2010 Honda Insight
Gallery: 2010 Honda Insight
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]
Live photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sasparilla 4:38PM (2/25/2009)
Honda really had this shot lined up - I can't see how its going to do anything but drive a stake through the heart of Prius sales (Prius 2010 in April will be more expensive than the 09). Toyota will still sell Prius's, but not like they would have.
Nice call Honda.
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gorr 4:42PM (2/25/2009)
This is just the early buyers fad. Hybrids sales are already declining.
Honda have surrender to the anti-everything mandated by germany, u.s.a, cia, canadian natural-ressources branch, zone 51 residents, that control each natural ressources to cut supply when they have the entire control of it to provoke starvation and jack-up the price at the right moment and keep the money in protected private kingdom in the middle east.
http://www.hybridcars.com/news/annual-hybrid-sales-drop-first-time-25388.html
http://www.hybridcar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=712&Itemid=45
Hybrid car using 2 bad technology ( gasoline and battery ) are rejected by consumers
that are waiting for my concept car( sport car made of aluminium, magnesium, titane, gold plated, carbon fibers, hydrogen internal combustion engine of 300 h.p with water mist injection six cylinders, rear wheels drive ). I knew more then 2009 years ago that this will provoke a big human race where everything will be put in heresy because the one providing this car will not survive the mass hysteria that will follow this big step in human history and everything and everyones will be judge by himself and fellows to why they had not build it and commercialize it in year 33 or 34.
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Anthony 4:46PM (2/25/2009)
This comment started off interestingly (though I would disagree) & went totally wackadoo. Nice going!
gorr 9:12PM (2/25/2009)
Thanks anthony,
What's piss me off with this ugly, tasteless, standardized, aerodynamic, common looking car is that it is based on science and economy and silly numbers all put in painful reality by unknown and obscure car engineers in japan. This have no sense to do a smaller prius for the poor that look exactly the same. This car have no personnality. Yes it consume less but drive bad and i noticed that with these kind of windsheild put far away from the driver with an almost horizontal rake angle, then we see nothing and the a pillar is badly located and we see nothing when we turn left and we see nothing at the rear with these big winsheild at a strange angle. This car give nothing new to consumer, offer a bland and testeless driving and owning experience and actual car compagny working for goverment are killing the economy with silly products that are all the same . nobody buy car because of science, they buy when there is a thrill and goverment tax anything that have a thrill. Why stop humanity for 2 more mpg more?? Each and every car manufacturers have adopted gasoline only technology and these hybrids are a hoax.
These standardized silly cars are ruled by big-oil, banks of wall-streets, goverments, epa, doe, and the martians
Chris M 2:47AM (2/26/2009)
Gorr, sales of almost all cars are declining, but sales of hybrids are declining much less than other cars. Not surprising, the cars with the biggest sales declines are the ones with the worst fuel economy.
Are there any cars with sales going up? Yes, Tesla Motors is having a banner year.
gorr 11:13AM (2/26/2009)
I already have a car like this one, it's a neon 2005. I won't pay more for this one, even if it offer 2-3 more mpg. I said more then a year ago to build a 200-300 h.p sport car for 12 000$-20 000$ with 100 mpg or more. So this car don't fit the bill, is boring and especially look the same as mine. It's me that order throu this blog what car manufacturers must conceive and put on serial production and put on sale near where i live, so i can go in their showroom to see their offering. If they want less complicated deal with me then it's easy, gm, toyota, honda can give me directly a corvette , a lexus or a nsx. I never really understood why all manufacturers, consumers and goverments and wall streets have provoked an economic crisis since i shop throu internet... Why do that for 1 customer ?? Trillions of words have been written in blogs and official news reports, billions have been lost in silly prototypes, millions of jobs have been lost and the world is in agony, this is silly.
Noz 11:21PM (2/25/2009)
What a shame this package didn't come in the infinitely better looking Fit.
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Throwback 1:31PM (2/26/2009)
I am not so sure the Insight will be as big a hit in the US. Gas is still very cheap and you have the infinitely more attractive, fun to drive and cheaper Fit across the showroom. Not to mention Honda dealers are not above gouging at every opportunity.
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Noz 12:15AM (2/27/2009)
Seriously. I agree.
Honda could have saved alot of money NOT making this car and simply throwing a Start/Stop system in the current Fit.