Honda Motor Co. will halt the development of successor models to major name-brand vehicles and offer only the hybrid version of the Civic, as part of a broader push to consolidate its domestic lineup, The Nikkei subscription newspaper reported.
The aim is to free up business resources and bolster the development of green vehicles and low-priced cars bound for India and other emerging markets.
The automaker will roll out an all-new Civic worldwide around fall 2011,
The Nikkei said. In Japan, however, only the hybrid version will be released because the company plans to discontinue the gas-powered Civics after the current model runs its course in the domestic market.
Launched in 1972 as its first mass-market passenger car, the Civic has propelled the company's emergence as a top global automaker. But the car's sales in Japan have slumped to around 100 units a month lately, as consumers' interest has shifted to hybrids and subcompact cars.
Honda will also discontinue the Legend sedan, its most luxurious offering in Japan, in light of sluggish sales amid the economic slump, The Nikkei said. It has also halted development of the Elysion, its top-of-the-line minivan in Japan, for the same reason.
As we previously reported, as part of its domestic production retooling, Honda has decided to resume construction of a hybrid-car factory in Yorii, Saitama Prefecture, but will scrap plans to build a minivehicle plant in Mie Prefecture. The carmaker suspended the construction of the hybrid-car factory after the global financial crisis slashed demand.
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