Honda just announced that they will stop the production of the Insight hybrid. It seems that the reason to this choice is the high competition coming from Toyota Prius models.
Apparently, sales have been really bad for Honda’s Insight hybrid. It has been revealed that the 2013 sales of this model were in fact 18 percent lower than the sales registered during the previous year. The company confirmed the news, so the Insight hybrid’s production will definitely end.
Some reports reveal that Honda took this decision back in November, when the company announced dealers that it will stop the production of the Insight. The company asked dealers back then to stop taking orders for this product, which ended production this month.
Honda revealed nothing else about its plans at the moment, so it remains uncertain if the company will discontinue the Insight-based CR-Z coupe, too. Moreover, what Honda plans on doing next also remains a mystery. This means that the company has failed to reveal if it will plan a successor for the Insight.
The Insight generation that Honda will discontinue was first released in 2009. The model debuted after no less than 3 years during which production of such models stopped.
Unfortunately for the company, the vehicle failed to gain the popularity that Honda hoped for. In fact, when it comes to sales, this hybrid car has always remained behind the Prius. By the end of 2013, the Insight sold more than 280,000 units, which is not bad at all. However, the Prius sold millions of vehicles all over the world.
Most likely, this has brought an important contribution to the decision that Honda took now. Moreover, it seems that not only that Honda did not reach the sales figures it hoped for, but actually sales dropped in 2013 compared to 2012.
If Honda will work to release a successor to the Insight is unclear, but if the famous automobile maker will make such a choice, it has to release a more modern car, which can be an important competitor to the Prius. In fact, the second generation Insight was developed with such a purpose, too, but it failed to achieve it.
