Photo: Honda
After pulling out of Formula 1 to chase carbon neutrality, Honda confirmed that it’s targeting 100-percent electric vehicles in North America by 2040. The ambitious plan will go into effect this year with the CR-V, which is due for a redesign. Also worthy of note, the Japanese automaker will discontinue the Insight from production this June.
Although it held great promise when it was introduced in 2018, the Insight never sold well. A little more than 70,000 units were delivered in total, which is pretty bad for a sensibly-priced compact. Given the increasing popularity of the Honda CR-V Hybrid and the heavy-handed CAFE standards, it’s only natural for the CR-V to soldier on with a hybrid option.
“Hybrid-electric vehicles are effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are a critical pathway toward Honda’s vision for 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales in North America by 2040,” declared Mamadou Diallo, the vice president of automotive sales at American Honda Motor. “Making the volume leader of our core models hybrid-electric will dramatically boost electrified sales in the Honda lineup, a strategy that will be augmented by the arrival of a Civic Hybrid in the future,” he signed off.
Let that sink in for a minute. Didn’t Honda fail miserably at selling a hybrid compact with the Insight? But therein lies the problem, folks! An Insight is an Insight, while the Civic nameplate carries more clout. It’s the same thing as Xerox, which is liberally used as a synonym for photocopying despite the American corporation’s innumerable attempts to protect its trademark.
Before the Civic eventually gets a hybrid powertrain in the United States, the Japanese automaker says that redesign of the Accord will be launched with optional hybrid power. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, the 11th-generation Civic already is a hybrid-only affair in the Old Continent and the UK.
Scheduled to arrive at dealers in the fall of 2022 as a 2023 model, the Euro-spec Civic e:HEV sports a 2.0-liter engine that runs the Atkinson cycle for extra efficiency at the expense of ponies and torque. Two powerful electric motors also need to be mentioned, along with a 72-cell battery. All told, total output is estimated at 181 horsepower and 232 pound-feet (315 Nm).
“Hybrid-electric vehicles are effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are a critical pathway toward Honda’s vision for 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales in North America by 2040,” declared Mamadou Diallo, the vice president of automotive sales at American Honda Motor. “Making the volume leader of our core models hybrid-electric will dramatically boost electrified sales in the Honda lineup, a strategy that will be augmented by the arrival of a Civic Hybrid in the future,” he signed off.
Let that sink in for a minute. Didn’t Honda fail miserably at selling a hybrid compact with the Insight? But therein lies the problem, folks! An Insight is an Insight, while the Civic nameplate carries more clout. It’s the same thing as Xerox, which is liberally used as a synonym for photocopying despite the American corporation’s innumerable attempts to protect its trademark.
Before the Civic eventually gets a hybrid powertrain in the United States, the Japanese automaker says that redesign of the Accord will be launched with optional hybrid power. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, the 11th-generation Civic already is a hybrid-only affair in the Old Continent and the UK.
Scheduled to arrive at dealers in the fall of 2022 as a 2023 model, the Euro-spec Civic e:HEV sports a 2.0-liter engine that runs the Atkinson cycle for extra efficiency at the expense of ponies and torque. Two powerful electric motors also need to be mentioned, along with a 72-cell battery. All told, total output is estimated at 181 horsepower and 232 pound-feet (315 Nm).
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