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Richmond Hill Honda | Blog | Honda Marks 25 Years Of Hybrid-Electric Sales: Honda Introduced North America’s First Hybrid Model in 1999; Hybrid-Electric Models Now Represent Over 30% of Sales in Canada

Honda Marks 25 Years Of Hybrid-Electric Sales: Honda Introduced North America’s First Hybrid Model in 1999; Hybrid-Electric Models Now Represent Over 30% of Sales in Canada

Blog Dec 12th, 2024
— Markham, ON.
  • The ground-breaking first-generation Honda Insight pioneered hybrid-electric technology in Canada with its debut in 1999
  • Original Insight remains one of Canada’s most fuel-efficient vehicles ever with a highway fuel economy rating of 3.4 L/100km*
  • Civic Hybrid, Accord Hybrid and CR-V Hybrid models now represent more than 30% of Honda brand sales
  • Honda electrified powertrain leadership continues with the award-winning Honda two-motor hybrid system powering the brand’s most popular models

Honda is celebrating a quarter-century of hybrid-electric sales in North America, a legacy that began with the original Honda Insight, the first Honda hybrid-electric vehicle sold in Canada, and continues today with hybrid-electric vehicles playing a key role in the company’s electrification strategy.

In Canada, over 30% of Honda brand sales today are hybrid-electric vehicles, with the Civic, Accord and CR-V each powered by the award-winning two-motor hybrid-electric system.

Launched in December 1999, the all-new Honda Insight was designed from the ground up as a hybrid with a combination of revolutionary technologies and remains one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles ever sold in Canada with a highway fuel economy rating of 3.4 L/100km*.

“Honda has been making hybrid-electric history in Canada for 25 years, it began with the Insight and our electrification journey continues with our core hybrid models, the Civic, CR-V and Accord,” said Emile Korkor, Assistant Vice President, Honda Canada. “Our increasingly popular hybrid models are a strategic part of our long-term electrification strategy, toward our ultimate global goal of carbon neutrality for all our products and corporate activities by 2050.”

First-Generation Honda Insight
Built alongside the NSX and S2000 sports cars at the company’s Takanezawa Plant in Japan, the award-winning, first-generation Honda Insight remains the most fuel-efficient mass production automobile Honda has ever sold in Canada with fuel economy ratings of 3.8 L/100km city and 3.4 L/100km highway*. Equipped with a fun and engaging 5-speed manual transmission, the original Insight was sold from 1999-2006.

In order to achieve their goal of making Insight the world’s most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered automobile, Honda engineers developed a combination of forward-thinking technologies, including an all-new Integrated Motor Assist (IMA™) hybrid powertrain, the world’s smallest, lightest and most efficient 1.0-litre gasoline automobile engine, a sophisticated aerodynamic design and a lightweight aluminum body and structure.

Insight’s advanced aerodynamics and the use of aluminum for the two-seater’s skin and the frame were critical to achieving its record fuel economy. Honda pioneered the use of aluminum in automobiles with the first-generation NSX supercar being the world’s first mass-produced all-aluminum production car.

This considerable experience, and many of the same technologies, were applied to the design of the Insight to create a new type of lightweight aluminum structure with high levels of body rigidity and advanced safety performance at a lower cost. Utilizing stamped aluminum sheets, an extruded aluminum frame and aluminum die-castings the body weight of Insight was nearly 50% less than the steel body of a Civic Hatchback, yet with 38% more torsional rigidity.

With a special focus on aerodynamic design, the original Insight also boasted one of the lowest coefficients of drag (0.25) of any mass-produced automobile sold worldwide.

Hybrid-Electric Models Made in North America*
Current Honda hybrid-electric models are made in Canada and the U.S. The Honda CR-V Hybrid is produced in three plants, including Honda of Canada Mfg. in Ontario, the East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio, and the Indiana Auto Plant. The Accord Hybrid is produced at the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio. The Civic Sedan Hybrid is produced at Honda of Canada Mfg., while the Civic Hatchback Hybrid is produced at the Indiana Auto Plant

Associates at Honda Power Unit Operations in Ohio build both the two-motor hybrid-electric power unit (Ohio Transmission Plant) and 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine (Anna Engine Plant) for the Civic, Accord Hybrid and CR-V Hybrid models.

* using domestic and globally-sourced parts

Honda Electrification Strategy
Toward the company’s global goal to achieve carbon neutrality for all of its products and corporate activities by 2050, the Honda vision is to make battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles represent 100% of its vehicle sales by 2040.

Hybrid-electric vehicles are a key step in this Honda electrification strategy, which includes equipping its core models with hybrid-electric powertrains. In Canada, hybrid-electric trims powered by the award-winning fourth-generation of the Honda two-motor hybrid-electric powertrain now represent more than 50% of Accord and CR-V sales, and the new 2025 Civic Hybrid models are expected to ultimately represent about 60% of Civic sales. Cumulative sales of Honda electrified vehicles in North America top the one million mark.

Honda began sales this year of the Honda Prologue, the brand’s first all-electric SUV. Honda will begin EV production of its original EVs based on the new Honda-developed e:Architecture platform at the Honda EV Hub in late 2025. The Honda EV Hub will create the flexibility to produce petrol, hybrid-electric and battery electric vehicles on the same manufacturing line.

At CES 2024 in January, Honda unveiled two concept models of the Honda 0 Series, the Saloon and the Space-Hub. A production model of the Saloon is planned for fall 2026, to be built at the Honda EV Hub, and positioned as the flagship model of the Honda 0 Series. Moreover, Honda has announced plans to introduce a total of seven Honda 0 Series models globally by 2030, including small-, medium- and large-size models.

In October, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. held its Honda 0-Tech Meeting 2024 in Tokyo, Japan and introduced some of the next-generation technologies to be applied to the Honda 0 Series, a completely new EV series Honda is planning to launch in the global market starting in 2026. Honda is planning to unveil a new Honda 0 Series model at CES 2025, scheduled to be held in January 2025. This new model will be the embodiment in product form of the technologies and electrification concept introduced during the Honda 0 Tech Meeting.

For more information on Honda next-generation technologies, click here.

Honda Hybrid-Electric Vehicles by Model Year available in North America

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