Next-Gen Honda Civic Hybrid to Use Lithium-Ion Batteries

Honda is really keen on implementing significant changes in its product lineup for the years to come and today's announcement that it will discontinue the Civic designation in Japan is the first sign to confirm it. However, it seems that Honda is also looking to introduce a couple of changes on the Civic Hybrid as well, in both the United States and the rest of the world.

According to a report issued by Inside Line, the 2010 Civic Hybrid will be the first model in Honda's lineup that will adopt lithium-ion batteries. Furthermore, the future iteration will replace the 1.3-liter engine with a more powerful one, namely 1.5-liter, in a move supposed to offer an improved blend of power and efficiency.

What's more interesting is that Honda plans to make Civic Hybrid a powerful competitor for Toyota's Prius, which basically means that Prius will now compete against two different models wearing the same badge.

Although details are pretty limited for the time being, it appears that the next-generation Honda Civic will be especially designed to be lighter, thus becoming more fuel efficient than the current version. Furthermore, it will be a little bit smaller but will maintain the same amount of interior space. The official launch date is yet to be released, but expect a preview at the upcoming auto shows in early 2011.

“We are taking more time to rethink the new Civic and all our models,” CEO Takanobu Ito told Automotive News. “We had to revisit our development work and planning to comply with the change in the environment.”