Honda attacks Toyota in North America, wants to sell 100,000 low-priced hybrid cars


Spy shot
of Honda’s new hybrid car (unconfirmed)

Honda yesterday announced they hope to sell 100,000 units in North America of a new hybrid car slated for release on April 22, 2009 (Earth Day).

The five-door, five-passenger vehicle lower is planned to not only be cheaper than the current Civic hybrid model (base price in the US: $22,600) but also to outperform Toyota’s hybrid market leader Prius in price (base price: $21,500). Toyota managed to sell more than 180,000 Priuses in the US last year.

The new Honda hybrids, which are expected to be smaller than the Prius models, will be be manufactured in Japan. The company will initially produce 200,000 of the vehicles, with half targeted for export to North America. Except for spy shots, there are no photographs of the new hybrid available, which is rumored to be unveiled during the 2008 Paris Motor Show in October.