Gaining Insight: Honda Begins Production of Hybrid Sedan, Challenging Market Awaits

The first-generation Honda Insight was a rare false-start for the company, marketed as a hatchback that had more doors than seats (three and two, respectively). Its atomic-egg styling enveloped a 67 horsepower 1.0-liter gasoline engine paired to a 10kW electric motor. The second-gen model, a more conventional car in terms of its styling and capacity, also fell a bit flat compared to the segment-leading Prius.

Honda’s betting the third time’s the charm, kicking off the mass production start of the all-new 2019 Honda Insight today at its plant in Indiana. Will this Insight electrify buyers or fizzle out? At first glance, it would at least appear they’ve got the styling right this time. Not everyone wants to shout that they’re driving a hybrid.

Part of a $61.5 million new capital investment in Indiana and Ohio, the Insight’s launch puts even more focus on Honda’s ever-expanding portfolio of electrified vehicles. The company already hawks a trio of Clarity models (plug-in, electric, and hydrogen), along with the 2019 Accord Hybrid. Your author professes confusion as to the lineup, as I thought the Clarity name would become the banner under which Honda would plunk all of its electrified family.

In any event, the new Insight is positioned between Civic and Accord in Honda’s American lineup, offering seating for five within its sedan-esque profile. Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assistive technology comes standard, as will Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration to satisfy the tech crowd (of which there is a big overlap in the Venn Diagram with greenies).

Powered by the third generation of Honda’s two-motor hybrid system, the Insight has 151 net system horsepower. Its hybrid battery pack is assembled at the Marysville plant, while the Insight’s 1.5-liter gasoline engine is produced at the company’s engine facility in Anna, Ohio. The company touts a lightweight structure and claims the best power-to-weight ratio in the Insight’s class. A 55 mpg fuel economy rating is expected.

Honda Manufacturing of Indiana is one of five Honda automobile assembly plants in the States and will now produce the Insight, Civic, and CR-V on the same production line. The financial investment mentioned above included the construction of a new 19,200 square-foot building to accommodate in-house subassembly of the Insight’s front-end module. This modular approach is aimed at construction of the vehicle’s front frame and associated components, such as the radiator and cooling fan.

The new Insight marks the first time the Indiana plant is sub-assembling the front-end module in-house. The modular concept was first introduced on the 2016 Civic and is now employed for the Accord and CR-V as well. With the CR-V now being produced alongside the Insight, and these front-end modules being handy, it’s not a stretch to think we’ll see a CR-V hybrid in America before too long.

The Insight itself sold slightly north of 20,000 units in each of its first two years as a five-passenger machine. That sounds pretty good until one notes the Prius moved about 140,000 copies during each of the same calendar years. That’s not the entire Prius family; no, that’s just the similarly-sized OG Prius. The thing’s a behemoth in terms of sales, although its current polarizing style seems to have scared off a few customers.

According to HybridCars.com, Toyota’s share of the entire hybrid segment (all bodystyles) is just over 55 percent. Sales of non plug-in hybrids are down, year-to-date, as segment leaders continue to struggle. So far this year, sales of plug-in hybrids (Chevy Volt, Prius Prime, et al) are are running at about a 30,000 annual rate, slightly less than the number of F-150s Ford moves in two weeks.

The 2019 Honda Insight will appear at Honda dealerships across the nation early this summer.

[Images: Honda]