Honda President Takanobu Ito says around 10 percent of Honda’s global sales will be hybrids by 2015, and all of its models are built with the ability to quickly adapt into hybrids.
In a Dec. 6 article, Automotive News primarily focused on how Kohei Hitomi, chief engineer of the Honda Fit, was asked by Honda’s top management in 2003 to make the Fit easily adaptable into a hybrid. So, Hitomi built in extra space below the rear floorboard flap for a potential electric motor in the engine housing. In the hybrid, the space houses the battery pack, inverter and controller—but it’s left empty in the gas-powered Fit.
The Honda Fit Hybrid went on sale in Japan in October, and will be sold in Europe in early 2011. The Fit Hybrid’s fuel efficiency and price aligns with the 2010 Honda Insight, rated at 40 mpg in the city and 43 on the highway. There are currently no plans to bring the Fit Hybrid to the United States.
[Read More: hybridcars.com]
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