Honda halts production of the Insight Hybrid

Honda Motor Company has decided to end the production of their first hybrid vehicle, the Honda Insight Hybrid, which was introduced in US, after demands for the vehicle plunged and the sales dipped down.  

According to reports, the Japanese automaker had informed the dealers’ way back in November that the production of the current generation of Insight Hybrid would halt from this month, thus asking them to stop taking orders on the model.

The Insight Hybrid was Honda’s first hybrid vehicle launched in the US market in 1999, seven months earlier than the Toyota Prius. The Toyota hybrid became the best-selling car in the US with cumulative sales of the vehicle soaring high approximately upto 30,00,000. As compared to the Prius, Honda could only deliver a cumulative 2,80, 629 vehicles globally till the end of last year. 

The first-generation Insight Hybrid set the standard for all the hybrid vehicles to follow. It offered better gas mileage than any non plug-in vehicle. But the current generation Insight hasn't really shone in the marketplace and lags behind the Toyota Prius and the Prius C in terms of price and fuel economy. 

It isn’t clear whether Honda plans to cease production of their CR-Z coupe as well, or whether a successor to the Insight is being planned by them. Sales are expected to continue in the US where Honda has a 237days’ worth supply of the car as opposed to the 60-day inventory held by automakers.