In September of this year, the new 2008 Honda Accord will hit showrooms. However, the hybrid version of the popular midsize sedan will not appear when Honda announced that it will discontinue production of its Honda Accord Hybrid units. A company spokesperson announced the news following the company’s US sales report that reflected declining sales figures for the hybrid.
“We have found that our hybrid system works better in smaller cars,” says Chris Naughton on behalf of the second-largest Japanese automaker.
The use of hybrid technology became popular when the price of gasoline began to skyrocket. Hybrid cars use an electric motor to assist an internal combustion engine. For smaller cars, the use of electric motors means that during low-power operation, the engine shuts down while the electric motor powers the car. This translates to better fuel economy, as the electric motor draws its power from a high-powered battery pack.
However, for larger cars, the use of a hybrid powertrain is primarily to give the car better performance. The additional power provided by an electric motor increases the horsepower and torque of a car. But with this application, the electric motor is not used alone. This means that the fuel economy is less than when using a hybrid powertrain in a smaller car.
The slight increase in fuel economy led Honda car buyers to opt for the conventional Accord over the Accord Hybrid. Due to the additional electric motor, battery pack, and modified engine parts, the Honda Accord Hybrid is priced higher than the conventional Accord. With a difference of 6 miles in terms of gas mileage rating, the higher price of the Accord Hybrid does not justify its fuel economy according to Honda car buyers.
Honda, however, promised that they will introduce a hybrid vehicle that is not a version of their popular car models, such as the Civic Hybrid. The company announced that the hybrid car will be launched in 2009. According to Honda, the vehicle will be smaller and less expensive than the current Honda Civic Hybrid.
The Honda Accord is larger than the Civic and is equipped with a larger engine than its direct competitor, the Toyota Camry Hybrid. The Accord hybrid uses a V6 engine unit with an electric motor that produces 253 horsepower. However, this power increase is second only to the consideration of car buyers as they look for fuel efficient cars that can justify the higher price of hybrid vehicles.
The Toyota Camry, on the other hand, is equipped with a smaller four-cylinder engine that returns more miles per gallon of gasoline. This makes the Camry a better option for many car buyers. Last month, 14 percent of all hybrid vehicles sold in the US auto market were Camry Hybrids. The Honda Accord Hybrid only managed to corner 1.4 percent of the hybrid vehicle market.
After the announcement that the Accord Hybrid will be removed from Honda’s lineup, it was speculated that Honda will introduce a diesel version of the Accord. However, according to auto industry experts, Honda will likely wait for Volkswagen or Mercedes-Benz to test the US auto market for diesel car reception.
