Honda released the Insight hybrid last spring and hoped to sell 90,000 units in its first year in the US, but sadly only 20, 572 Insights were sold. Meanwhile the Toyota Prius, the Insight’s main competitor outsold the Insight seven-to-one. Now Honda’s Vice President, Koichi Kondo recently stated in an interview the reasons the Insight has been a disappointment, “I think we compromised too much on size in pursuing fuel efficiency” for the U.S. market, he said.
According to Kondo the Insight is too small and there isn’t enough room in the back seat for US customers. Lower gas prices also hurt hybrid sales last year, which is also hurting the development of the upcoming Fit Hybrid.
“There are plenty of people who think that the current Fit meets their needs already” with its fuel efficiency, he said. “A hybrid version might seem expensive. Our engineers are really struggling.”
The Fit hybrid is supposed to go on sale by the end of the year.
Full Story: Bloomberg
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