Honda's Insight Sales May Fall 30 Percent Short of its 2009 U.S. Sales Target

Blame the ongoing recession along with the fairly low gasoline prices at the pumps and strong competition from Toyota's revamped Prius hybrid, but Honda's execs are quite pessimistic about the prospects of the Insight meeting its 2009 U.S. market sales target of around 90,000 units. "Given some dramatic change in things, I don't think we'll get to 90,000. At 50,000 to 60,000, we will be just fine," American Honda Motor Executive Vice President John Mendel told Bloomberg news.

For its first year on the market, Honda has projected worldwide sales of around 200,000 units for its new dedicated hybrid model, with nearly half of those sales coming from the North American market. Despite the gloomy outlook in the U.S., Reuters reported that a spokesman in Tokyo said there has been no change in Honda's sales forecast for 2009.

In Japan, the Insight climbed to the top spot of the sales chart in April with 10,481 units but fell to third place in May with 8,859 cars after the domestic launch of the new Toyota Prius that finished first with 10,915 units registered.

2011 Honda Insight with Subtle Revisions and Special Price Offer goes on Sale in the UK

The modestly improved for the 2011 model year Honda Insight hybrid with chassis and trim level changes has arrived at Honda's UK showrooms. Normal pricing starts at £16,325 for the SE model, however, the Japanese automaker is running a special deal until the end of December offering the hybrid model at £14,995 OTR.

For the 2011 model year, Honda also added a new, top-of-the-range, EX model that's priced at £20,215 OTR and comes equipped with black leather upholstery, DVD Sat Nav and hands-free telephone as standard.

According to the automaker, most of the changes on the Insight were made to address negative feedback from the media as well as customers on the car's ride and comfort levels. The chassis improvements include adjusting the recoil rate of the springs, changing the rear camber angles, plus altering the V-shape rear suspension brace and adjusting mounts.

The latest model also benefits from the addition of new paint options with the introduction of Dynamic Blue Pearl and Carnelian Red Pearl.

New Toyota Prius Hybrid Tops May Sales in Japan

Toyota's latest generation Prius hybrid made it to the No. 1 spot in the Japanese sales chart in May with 10,915 units registered. According to data released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, the Prius hybrid's 2009 May sales increased more than five-fold from the same month a year ago. The new hybrid model from Toyota overtook Honda's lower-priced Insight hybrid that fell to third place in May with 8,183 units after taking the first spot in April. Honda's Fit (Jazz) subcompact hatch came in second in May with 8,859 units sold. This is the second time in Japan's history that a hybrid model tops the sales chart.