Honda to Discontinue Accord Hybrid
Honda announced today that it will discontinue the production of Accord hybrids due to Toyota’s market dominance with the Prius hybrid. They will, however, continue producing Civic hybrids, which have fared somewhat better since their introduction. Since going on sale in 2004, the Accord hybrid has sold just 25,000 units, including 6,100 in 2006. In just the last month, 439 Accord hybrids have sold nationwide, as compared to 24,000 Prius hybrids.
While at least part of this difference has been ascribed to the fact that the mileage advantage of a hybrid is most pronounced in a smaller car, such as the Prius or Civic, Toyota still offers a hybrid Camry as well as hybrid Lexus models.
[Source: MSN/Money]
Published on June 5th, 2007 - 11 Comments
Filed under: Automotive, Energy
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I think the many people who have read this story are a bit misled. The Accord Hybrid is actually a V6 engine with hybrid. The Civic, Prius, and Camry all are 4 cylinder or smaller. The gains in fuel economy just aren’t there on the Accord Hybrid.
go to fueleconomy.gov and see for yourself…
Accord Hybrid 24 city / 32 hwy
Civic Hybrid 40 / 45
Camry Hybrid 33 / 34
Prius 48 / 45
If a 4 cylinder Accord Hybrid is offered, I would think sales to be much better.
Comment by cjeff — Jun 5th 2007 @ 6:46 pmYep, that’s why I said:
“While at least part of this difference has been ascribed to the fact that the mileage advantage of a hybrid is most pronounced in a smaller car, such as the Prius or Civic, Toyota still offers a hybrid Camry as well as hybrid Lexus models.”
But I didn’t realize that the Camry was a 4-cylinder, which does make a difference. But what about the Lexus hybrids? Those are all V-6, 3.3L or above.
I agree that a 4-cylinder Accord hybrid would sell much better, though. I’m surprised they don’t make one.
This Groovy Green article Honda To Drop Hybrid Accord makes an interesting point about why it is not such big news that Honda has dropped the hybrid Accord.
Comment by Boston Gal — Jun 5th 2007 @ 7:46 pmI’m still waiting for them to bring back the electric car. I imagine that I will be waiting for a long time.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Jun 6th 2007 @ 8:56 amWell Blaine there is always the Tesla. Bit pricey, but all electric.
http://www.teslamotors.com
Comment by Jonathan A. — Jun 6th 2007 @ 10:09 amI like the Accord Hybrid (I do not own one), but, I think Honda made a marketing mistake with it. The Accord Hybrid was offered as the premier Accord. It has the biggest engine, most power, nicest trim package, etc. It is almost a luxury car. It is also the most expensive Accord.
The problem is that most peole buy hybrids to save money, not spend more money. The savings with the Accord are not there. The Prius is beloved because it gets 50 MPG. With the Accord, you are lucky to get 30.
I think the best marketing plan for Hybrids right now is to focus on the fuel savings and added mileage, not adding it to the nicest/most expensive model in the line. When Hybrid technology is cheap enough that it can almost be considered a commodity, then you can focus on the luxury sector.
Comment by Patrick — Jun 6th 2007 @ 12:33 pmIt’s a shame to see the car makers reducing the hybrid cars rather than increasing them. But for the moment, it may have to be the way things go until the economies of scale can have the hybrid model be the same price or much closer to the price of the regular model.
As for electric cars, don’t forget that the electricity has to be generated somewhere, and most electricity in the US is generated by burning fossil fuels. So it still pollutes, just not in your backyard. I’ve always wondered what the efficiency is, though - it seems inefficient to burn fuel, turn it into electricity, then make that electricity do work rather than having the burning process do the work directly in the engine. Does anyone know of any data on this?
Comment by FamilyFinanceBlog — Jun 6th 2007 @ 1:02 pmI would love a 4-cylinder Accord Hybrid WAGON! I would buy one brand-new RIGHT NOW if they offered it, and that’s saying a lot.
Comment by savvy — Jun 6th 2007 @ 2:00 pmsavvy: So would I. I ended up getting a CR-V 18 months ago, but what I really wanted was an Accord wagon. Unfortunately, they killed that off awhile back.
Supposedly several blogs are claiming that a diesel engine based accord is on its way for 2009.
http://thehollywoodextra.blogs.....in-us.html
Comment by skadoo323 — Jun 6th 2007 @ 4:04 pmIt would be interesting to see why they decided to drop them.. Im fathering not enough buyers
Comment by Creditnine.com — Jun 7th 2007 @ 11:08 pm