Preview: All-New Honda Hybrid

By nature, Honda plays it close to the vest. The 'Honda Way' is to let the product speak for itself with marketing and PR hype yielding to engineering and execution. So when Honda recently released a few sketchy details about its next generation hybrids for the North American market, it caught our attention. With the new Toyota Prius set to debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit this January, the battle for hybrid supremacy is heating up.

Spy photos of a camouflaged Honda Prius fighter are beginning to circulate on the Internet along with considerable speculation about what the next generation of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid technology will bring. The new Honda is likely to beat the next-gen Prius to market. Honda says the car is scheduled for introduction early in 2009 with the official name and product details to come later this year. We expect that means the L.A. Auto Show in November.

So what do we know officially about the new Honda hybrid? First, the new car looks to be a direct Prius competitor. Honda sources say it is a five-door hatchback with seating for five passengers that's loaded with high value amenities. Honda is above all else an innovator, so we don't mean to imply that the new car will be a copycat or clone in any way, shape, or form. Still, there is no denying the fact that Prius is the industry standard. Going one-up on the champ speaks volumes and provides the advantage of building market momentum.

Honda is certainly not new to hybrids. In fact, it was the first major manufacturer to offer a production gasoline-electric hybrid in the North America. The lightweight and aerodynamic two-seat Insight introduced in 1999 actually beat the first generation Prius to the punch in the U.S., although the Prius had been on sale in Japan since 1997.

The new Honda hybrid's styling will be similar to the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle, only in a five-door hatchback design with a higher rear deck profile. The recently introduced CR-Z sports car concept will also likely influence the design, lending even more aggressive lines and cues.

The new car will benefit from size and weight reductions in the primary IMA components. The next generation Integrated Motor Assist powertrain is said to be less expensive to manufacture, allowing Honda to sell its new hybrid at a more affordable price point. We also understand that Honda will introduce a hybrid version of the subcompact Fit to compliment the Civic in the 2010 timeframe. The smaller, less expensive IMA system is a necessity to make the hybrid Fit possible. Honda sources indicate that the battery and internal processing unit, or 'brain,' of the hybrid system will be placed below the floor in the rear hatch area. This position doesn't impose on the cargo area, providing solid utility.

Few specifics can be confirmed about the coming IMA system, but Honda has stated that it will have new technologies to improve practical fuel economy including a function to assist the driver for efficient operation. We don't expect the new hatchback model to have second-generation, breakthrough lithium-ion batteries, but it will certainly offer a lighter and more powerful battery pack than the current Honda nickel-metal-hydride battery pack.

The new car won't be a short-run limited production model. Honda is expecting global sales in excess of 200,000 units with about 100,000 of those slated for the North American market. But that's just the start. In addition to the new car, the Civic Hybrid, and coming Fit Hybrid, Honda has hinted at another small hybrid based on the CR-Z sports car that debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. Think of it as a sporty follow-up to the original Honda Insight. These four Honda hybrids are expected to push annual hybrid sales over 500,000 cars.