Honda Canada drops the Insight
Company focusing on hybrid versions of its core models — CR-V, Accord, Civic
Honda Canada says the all-new Civic will regain a hybrid version, although it's not yet saying exactly when it will be launched or where it will be built.
The automaker has confirmed the 2023 Honda CR-V will come as a hybrid and will be built in Canada for the first time, and that the redesigned Accord that's expected for 2023 will have a hybrid in its lineup, as the 2022 model does now.
But what apparently isn't returning is the Insight, a hybrid sedan that might as well have been a Civic Hybrid with a different badge. Honda doesn't even list it anymore on its consumer website. That's not really surprising, as we earlier reported that it was the lowest-selling vehicle in Canada in 2021, moving just 251 copies, and that was a drop of 40 per cent from the year prior. Its primary rival, the Toyota Prius, sold 6,720 units over the same period.
The Honda Clarity Plug-In was also dropped at the end of the 2021 model year, as was its hydrogen fuel-cell version; the all-electric Clarity disappeared the year prior. Honda Canada's sole hybrid offering for 2022 is the current version of the Accord Hybrid (the Clarity is still shown on the consumer website but with a notice that it's sold out).
In its statement, Honda Canada said that as the next step in its electrification strategy in North America, it will focus “on increasing hybrid volume of core models — CR-V, Accord and, in the future, Civic.” It added “these hybrid offerings will eventually represent more than 50 per cent of the sales mix of each model. Hybrid powerplants will be included in the top and best performing models in the Honda lineup.”
Honda will also launch its all-new Prologue, a fully-electric SUV, for the 2024 model year.