Honda to build cheaper hybrid

The carmaker plans to launch a smaller, cheaper alternative to the Civic Hybrid which will be available in the UK by 2009. “This new car will be sized between the Jazz and the Civic and is being designed specifically for hybrid technology, rather than being an adaptation of an existing design,” said Honda UK environmental manager John Kingston at the Geneva show. “The car will be cheaper than the Civic, it will take hybrids into mainstream motoring.” The new hybrid is likely to go on sale before Honda rolls out models powered by the next-generation “super clean” diesel engine previewed at Geneva. “We already produce what we believe to be a good diesel product, but the new units will take compression ignition motoring to a new level by offering the same air quality as petrol along with lower emissions. They will be market leaders in our larger-size models. We still believe the hybrid solution remains the most effective route to delivering small and medium cars with low-emission performance.”