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There’s no denying that hybrid cars, SUVs and trucks are hot these days. Environmental concern, the rising price of fuel and the image associated with a hybrid have helped to shift these fuel misers to the top of many peoples’ shopping lists more quickly than most initially expected, not to mention the advancement of associated technologies. New battery technologies plus the advancement of the plug-in hybrids also helped to spur interest. And just when many brands have started to offer hybrid versions of vehicles that were previously just gasoline powered, such as the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid and Chrysler Aspen Two-Mode Hybrid joining the already popular Ford Escape Hybrid and Camry Hybrid, the market has signaled a return of the hybrid vehicle in its most original form. The first hybrids, the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, were dedicated designs, offered only as hybrids, allowing their owners immediately noticeable green credentials. Now, Toyota’s subsidiary Lexus, and Honda have begun work on bringing this type of vehicle back.

Lexus is reportedly developing a brand new car that will only be offered as a hybrid. Currently Lexus offers a wide number of hybrid vehicles in its range, including the RX 400h, the GS 450h, and the brand new “ultimate hybrid”, the LS 600h L. Rumour also has it that Lexus will bring out a version of the Camry-based ES, though unlike the Toyota version there would be more focus on performance and refinement than just fuel savings.

The latest offering is expected to be in the “D-Segment”, which would place it between the IS and the GS in terms of size. Steve Settle of Lexus UK remarked that the vehicle will focus more on current hybrid issues, such as interior space and quality, plus trunk space rather than styling. Lexus sees hybrid technology as a way to differentiate itself from other premium marques, and believes that more and more customers will buy into the performance-enhancing and fuel-saving technology in the future. The new Lexus dedicated hybrid vehicle is expected to arrive before 2010.

Despite killing off the Insight roughly a year ago, and recently condemning its slow selling Accord Hybrid to death row before being eliminated entirely once the last models roll of its dealer lots, Honda is also reportedly working on a new dedicated hybrid model. However, instead of pursuing the high end market, Honda is taking an entry-level strategy.

Contrary to popular assumption, the car won’t be the successor to the Insight, nor will it be a coupe. Automotive News Europe reports that the vehicle will be a family-oriented product, and will be marketed globally at prices that undercut current hybrids. With an annual production target of 200,000 units per year, this upcoming dedicated hybrid is expected to turn a profit, unlike the Insight. Ken Kier, senior VP at Honda UK told the daily newspaper that the car won’t look like the Small Hybrid Sports Concept that was shown at Geneva last year, but instead it would look more like the Remix that was shown in LA. The expected launch date of the new hybrid entry-level vehicle is pegged for 2010, after the launch of a Honda hybrid sports car.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 9:52 am and is filed under Green, Honda, Hybrids, Lexus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.