Quote Originally Posted by The Wall Street Journal Asia
Honda to Release World's First Hybrid Subcompact

Nikkei Net Interactive
February 22, 2006

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. plans to start selling the hybrid version of its Fit subcompact worldwide as early as fiscal 2007, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Tuesday.

This vehicle stands to become the first hybrid to be priced at less than 2 million yen, as Honda apparently aims to sell it for around 1.4 million yen, about 200,000 yen more than the conventional Fit's price tag. Based on midsize and large vehicles, the hybrid cars currently on the market sell for at least 2 million yen.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s hybrid vehicles are priced about 500,000 yen higher than the gasoline-powered vehicles they are based on. Honda aims to reduce the price difference to less than half by developing a smaller motor and battery.

Honda plans to add the hybrid model when the Fit subcompact is due for full remodeling. The Fit series consists of models with engine displacements ranging between 1.3 and 1.5 liters. For the hybrid version, Honda intends to develop a 1-liter-class engine.

Aside from Honda and Toyota, Ford Motor Co. sells hybrid cars in North America. Toyota, which led the way with the launch of the Prius hybrid in 1997, now offers five hybrid models. Its sales of hybrid cars in 2005 totaled 235,000 units, or 3.2% of its entire vehicle sales.

Honda entered the market in 1999 by rolling out the Insight two-seater hybrid. It now sells the Insight and hybrid versions of the Civic and Accord. Aggregate sales of these three vehicles in 2005 came to 48,000 units, about 1.4% of Honda's overall car sales.

Launched in 2001, global sales of the Fit subcompact totaled 390,000 units in 2005, the third-highest tally among Honda vehicles, following the Accord's 680,000 units and the Civic's 590,000.

The Fit hybrid will likely offer a fuel economy comparable to the Insight's 36km per liter and the Toyota Prius' 35.5km per liter.

Driven by high gasoline prices, demand for hybrid cars has been growing worldwide. The U.S. is the biggest market, with the bulk of all global hybrid car sales made there. Much of the rest are sold in Japan and Europe.
Hybrid Jazz? I thought it was fuel efficient enough already by today's standards.