Honda may cut production of the Accord hybrid because sales have been so slow, US executive vice president Dick Colliver has said.
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The Associated Press noted that Colliver was the second executive to question the direction of hybrid sales during media previews for the New York motor show – Nissan Motor chief executive Carlos Ghosn had said earlier that hybrid sales appear to be slowing down, something he has warned could happen as consumers decide whether hybrids are worth their additional cost.
Colliver reportedly wouldn’t give exact sales for the Accord hybrid, which went on sale in December 2004, but said they make up a tiny percentage of Honda’s overall sales. Overall Accord sales were down 4% last year, according to Autodata Corp.
“We’ve had to re-evaluate our position,” Colliver said, according to the news agency. “It’s having a hard time in the market.”
Colliver told The Associated Press a decision on the Accord would be made sometime this year.
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By GlobalDataAP noted that not all hybrids are suffering. Honda’s Insight hybrid saw sales jump 15% last year, and Colliver said sales of the Civic hybrid remain strong. The company expects to sell 25,000 hybrid Civics this year, or 8% of its total Civic volume.
Colliver told the news agency the problem with the Accord is that the hybrid system is paired with a V6 engine, compared to the smaller four-cylinder engine in the Civic, and consumers aren’t convinced it will offer them any fuel savings.
AP noted that Toyota’s Lexus luxury division is betting that consumers eventually will adopt so-called performance hybrids like the Accord, which give vehicles a bigger engine with better fuel economy and lower emissions.
The 2008 Lexus LS 600h, introduced at the New York show, is the first luxury vehicle to pair a powerful V8 engine with a hybrid system. The combination gives the 600h the power of a 12-cylinder engine with the fuel efficiency of a smaller vehicle. Lexus reportedly said the sedan would have fuel economy ratings equal to or better than some mid-sized luxury sedans but Colliver told AP he’s not convinced consumers will embrace performance hybrids.
“We’re still looking at where’s the best package for hybrids,” Colliver said. “We’re going to have to watch the market.”
Jack Nerad, editorial director of auto information service Kelley Blue Book, told AP he also expects consumers will be slow to adopt performance hybrids because they think of hybrids only as fuel savers. “The general public doesn’t grasp there is such a thing as a performance hybrid,” Nerad reportedly said.
Hybrids made up 1.5% of new-car sales last year, up slightly from the year before, even though there were new models on the market, according to JD Power and Associates, The Associated Press added.
