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REPORT: Honda Insight sales withering in face of competition from Toyota Prius

inspirion7 submitted on 7/30/2009 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 10:39:39 AM

22 user comments | Category: New Cars | Source: | SOURCE: www.autobloggreen.com

Honda's Insight hybrid is failing to live up to sales expectations here in the important U.

S. market. While Honda claims the Insight was never meant to be a direct competitor to the Toyota Prius, the truth is that the two cars are very much rivals in the eyes of many new car shoppers (and some Honda dealers). With that in mind, the 2,079 Insights that Honda managed to sell in June pales in comparison to the 12,998 Prius hybrids Toyota sold in the same month. Further, Honda is on track to sell less than one-third of its stated goal of 90,000 units in its first year on the market.

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REPORT: Honda Insight sales withering in face of competition from Toyota Prius

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inspirion7

"Show me the money" - Cuba Gooding Jr. The bigger the Government, the smaller the man.

— inspirion7 (View Profile)


User Comments

Agent001

DOH!

Told ya! ;)

001

— Agent001 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 12:29:33 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Mason3Robert

Yep...Toyota, baby.....

I love my Camry!!!!!!

Insight, who??

— Mason3Robert (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 1:18:57 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

inspirion7

Love your Camry is like loving a refrigerator. Who would every admit to loving such a vehicle?

— inspirion7 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 6:18:42 PM | | Votes: 9   

800over

um I love my refridgerator.....

— 800over (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 8:39:11 PM | | Votes: 4   

Invisible

Hybrids in general are a hard sell with current USA gas prices. In other countries with high gas prices, the Insight is selling very well.

Other car sales that have plunged include the Fit and Civic. Only Honda's up last month are the two biggest, the Odyssey and the Pilot.

Cheap gas, big cars.

— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 1:19:48 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

7msynthetic

They didn't let you test drive one because they are loud and wimpy. Oh and how could Honda say that the Insight is not meant to compete with the Prius? The Honda looks like a cheap Chinese clone to the Prius.

— 7msynthetic (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 2:34:45 PM | | Votes: 2   

Janizary

Didn't help that two of my local Honda dealers wouldn't let me test drive one whilst I was shopping one of my 89 XJs for CARS. No drive, no sale. Period. Idjit galoots (/Sam)

— Janizary (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 2:14:51 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Mason3Robert

I actually like Honda, BUT that Insight aka mini R-Class mercedes is a mistake....BUUUUT THAT PILOT!!!! WTH is that supposed to be? Sales may be up now, but they are PROBABLY just up from 5 total sales last month. I think the S***UV was a mistake as well

— Mason3Robert (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 2:31:19 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Willis

What a shame. It looks so much better than the Prius too!

— Willis (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 3:20:53 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Anthony

Design and personal taste are subjective, but still, you lack an eye for both apparently.

— Anthony (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 4:20:42 PM | | Votes: 3   

204E60

No surprise. The Prius is the far better vehicle. The Insight is just too cheesy.

— 204E60 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 4:18:13 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

Anthony

To add insult to injury, the Prius costs more than the Insight.

— Anthony (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 4:20:08 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

204E60

What's the insult to the injury? The Prius is worth more, has better technology and better features. The Prius offers a solar powered ventilation system and sunroof, lane-change warning, self-regulating cruise control. Rear disc brakes are standard. None of that is available in any form on the Honda. Of course you have to pay for the more advanced technology.

— 204E60 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 7:47:27 PM | | Votes: -2   

mac075

Honda skimped! The INSIGHT concept was a 100% winner. I was ready to get it. BUT the production model fails on so many levels that it's a no brainer that the Toyota Prius is in the lead. Sorry Honda, you messed this one up all on your own!

— mac075 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 4:47:08 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

tango

If Hodna doesn't intend to do battle with the Prius then they should have sucked it up and sold the diesel Accord. The truth is that people who are looking for a hybrid will consider three vehicles. Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion, and Honda Insight, in that order. Honda is a distant thrid because they aren't pushing the limit. There is nothing special. Make that Insight run purely on electricity until 55mph and see what happens. That alone will have people clamouring to drive the car that has outdone the Fusion and may very well outdo the Prius. Something is wrong at Honda and the Angel of Death will soon arrive in a Prius if they are not careful.

— tango (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 5:57:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

huu76

Invisible,
Prius is easily outselling BMW's smash hit X6. At half the price and in one month, the Prius sold more than half of BMW's artificially limited X6's annual allocation for N.America.

Insight was the worst proposition vs the Fit and Prius. Too pricey and not enough mileage to go against a Fit and not cheap enough to go up against a far superior Prius.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/30/2009 8:52:05 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -4   

Joe_Limon

How can compare the prius sales with the x6??? That's like saying the Corvette pwns Ferrari's and Lamborghini's because it still sells more then double all of their models put together. The logic is horrible!

— Joe_Limon (View Profile)

Posted on 7/31/2009 12:54:46 AM | | Votes: 5   

Badgewhore

Honda needs to fire their marketing people. Those people still living in the 80s mindset and not in tune with the 21st century.

— Badgewhore (View Profile)

Posted on 7/31/2009 12:10:37 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

huu76

Joe_limon,
Corvette C7 can hold its own against Ferrari. Not everybody needs to feel European you know.

What's wrong with my comparison? In two months the Prius can outsell the X6 for the entire year, and its not as though it has a huge price advantage (2 to 1). Just goes to show the X6 is a pointless vehicle.
Anyway, the Prius is selling just fine whether you like it or not, and it doesn't need any gov't subsidy to achieve its sales success like those handicapped European diesels.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/31/2009 10:28:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

senorgato

Now, watch with the misleading headlines. "Withering"? Not quite. Sales of the insight have been relatively steady since intro.

June 2009 - 2,079
May 2009 - 2,780
April 2009 - 2,096

Don't forget. Prius has a HUGE, loyal, buyer base. This is the 3rd gen Prius vs. the 1st gen Insight (for this size and config). And, as others have mentioned, gas prices aren't outrageous anymore.

— senorgato (View Profile)

Posted on 8/1/2009 4:51:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

HyundaiSmoke

The Insights Powertrain would be best served if placed in a Fit Body, but thats my 2 cents.

— HyundaiSmoke (View Profile)

Posted on 8/2/2009 7:39:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

EL34

Of course sales of that Honda are withering.

It looks like nasty dog poop.

:-\

— EL34 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/2/2009 8:38:40 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

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