Honda to stop making Accord Hybrid
Honda Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 automaker, will continue to make gas-and-electric models of its Civic sedan, but stop offering the hybrid Accord with the new model expected to go on sale later this year, company spokesman Yoshiyuki Kuroda said in Tokyo.
The Accord hybrid, which is sold only in North America, was a dud, selling just 25,000 since going on sale in 2004, and just 6,100 last year. Kuroda said the decision underlines how hybrids tend to be more popular with smaller models because mileage improvements tend to be more pronounced.
A hybrid switches between a gas engine and electric motor to deliver better mileage and reduce greenhouse emissions.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius hybrid is the market leader, with 729,800 units sold since December 1997. Toyota offers several other hybrid models, including the hybrid Camry and hybrid Lexus models.
“Americans didn’t accept the Accord hybrid," Kuroda said. Detroit Free Press