Whatever Happened To The Honda Insight
Honda has long been regarded as one of the most trusted and reliable brands in the automotive industry. The company has also established itself as an industry trailblazer in developing hybrid and electric vehicle technology for mass production. In the late 1990s, Honda became the first major automaker to offer a hybrid vehicle for public purchase in North America, releasing the gas-electric powered Insight and thus beating Toyota's legendary Prius hybrid to market by a mere seven months.
The first-generation Insight hit the streets packing a one-liter, three-cylinder VTEC-E engine connected to a 2.5-inch comprehensive electric motor powered by a 144-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack. That combination allowed the Insight to average more than 80 miles per gallon, a feat that was aided by the vehicle's unforgettable aerodynamic design that partially covered its back wheels. The Insight has evolved over the years, with Honda manufacturing more stylish and more powerful models of its hybrid off and on until 2022.
As it happens, the 2022 Insight was the last Insight Honda produced, with the company officially killing its ground-breaking, cult-hit hybrid in June of that year. Here's what happened to Honda's Insight hybrid vehicle.
Subpar sales may have doomed the Honda Insight
Interestingly enough, 2022 was not the first time Honda decided to press the pause button on the production of Insight, with the groundbreaking hybrid having endured similar pauses in 2006 and 2014. While it has never been confirmed outright by Honda, it's believed poor sales were the reason for the cancellations, with Toyota's Prius outpacing most of its competitors in the early days of the hybrid era.
Insight seemingly did not fare much better when Honda unexpectedly revived it for a third time in 2018. By then, of course, the hybrid automobile market had evolved dramatically, with almost every major car company and even most luxury brands boasting hybrid or all-electric vehicles of their own. Given the level of competition, it's surprising that Honda kept coming back to Insight, keeping it in production off and on until 2022 despite a dodgy sales record.
While the company never gave an official reason for pulling the plug on the revamped Insight, traditional logic dictates automakers do not take cars out of production if they are flying off the sales floor, so make of that what you well. In the end, Honda may have opted to kill Insight so it could prop the hybrid-electric vehicle program up with a better-known name from its stable.
Honda may have prioritized name recognition in replacing the Insight
It should be noted that the revamped Insight Hybrid had a lot in common with one of Honda's best-known vehicles, the Civic. Many in the auto industry would point out that the most recent version of the Insight was more or less a 10th-generation Civic, with Honda essentially mounting an Insight body atop a Civic frame.
Given the Civic's legacy among Honda's lineup of vehicles, it was hardly a surprise that, upon announcing the end of the Insight, the automaker also announced it would replace Insight with a fully hybrid version of its Civic. Along with the Civic Hybrid, Honda also announced its other "core" vehicles, the Accord and CRV, would be the mainstays of its hybrid and electric vehicle program, with the company hoping those automobiles, among others, will help it attain its goal of going 100% EV in North American sales by 2040.
As for the Civic Hybrid, Honda's budget-friendly e:HEV powered auto started rolling out in Europe in early 2023, earning solid reviews from respected publications like MotorTrend. As of this writing, however, the Civic Hybrid is not yet available Stateside, with Honda expecting the vehicle to hit showrooms in the U.S. sometime in 2024. With the Civic Hybrid expected to perform well both on the road and in the showroom, it's safe to say Honda has likely closed the book on the Insight. Nonetheless, it arguably remains one of the most important vehicles in auto history.