Honda ’s all-new Insight hybrid has been a hot seller in Japan, but the fuel efficient four-door will likely miss its full-year sales goal here in the U.S. The Insight surged to become the best-selling vehicle in Japan in April, but U.S. sales are off 33 percent from their predicted pace.
At its current pace, the Insight – which hit the U.S. market in March — will sell about 50,000 to 60,000 units in its first 12 months. That’s behind the 90,000 sales Honda had expected. “I don’t think we’ll get to 90,000,” Honda vice president John Mendel told Bloomberg.
Although fuel efficient cars saw strong demand in early to mid 2008, lower fuel prices and a weakened economy have conspired against the Insight. In fact, hybrid sales were down 38 percent through May, compared to an overall market drop of 37 percent.
However, there is still time for the Insight to recover. The economy is expected to rebound by year’s end and gas prices have been steadily increasing over the last few weeks. Insight sales are expected to top 4,000 units this month, up from 2,098 May sales.
