TOKYO, July 15 — Competition between Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in the hybrid vehicle market is intensifying, with Honda hoping to chip away at the dominance of Toyota’s Prius by launching new models following the February release of its Insight, Japanese news agency, Jiji Press, reported.
The fierce competition between the two leading Japanese automakers may lead to lower hybrid prices, in turn buoying the car segment.
The latest version of the Prius is so popular that would-be owners who place orders now must wait until mid-March 2010 at the earliest for delivery. Yesterday, Toyota rolled out its first hybrid-only model under the luxury Lexus marque.
Toyota Senior Managing Director Toshio Furutani says hybrid vehicles make up more than half of Lexus’ sales volume. Thanks to tax breaks and other government incentives, hybrids have become mainstream vehicles faster than expected, Furutani said.
Honda ramped up Insight production in mid-June at its Suzuka factory in the central Japan prefecture of Mie.
In addition, the company plans to release both the CR-Z sports hybrid and the Fit subcompact hybrid in 2010.
Honda President Takanobu Ito says that hybrid cars should be reasonably priced, suggesting a Honda strategy of popularising hybrids through affordability. Its release of the most basic model of its Insight hybrid for ¥1.89 million (RM72,200) has helped reduce the prices of such vehicles.
Ito sees hybrid vehicles accounting for the vast majority of automobiles 20 years from now. – Bernama
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