Q: Where is the Insight being manufactured?

A: The Insight is being produced in Japan. Specifically, it is manufactured at the Takanazawa plant in the Tochigi Prefecture, about 80km north of Tokyo, in the same plant Honda has used for production of other low-volume, unique technology vehicles such as the Honda/Acura NSX, Honda S2000 and the now-out-of-production EV Plus. Somewhere between 20 - 30 Insights are being produced per day.

Q: Why is the number of Insights sold significantly smaller than the 6,500 unit annual production figure?

A: There are at least two issues at play here:

• The sales target for the U.S. is 6,500 vehicles. The initial target was 4,000, but Honda increased that quantity by 50 percent in March 2000 due to "overwhelming" demand. Increasing the number produced above the number sold has helped a great deal, as there are now enough Insights in the Honda dealer network that in most areas the buying public can now readily view and test drive one. Previously, this was a big problem, as Insights were being picked up so quickly that people interested in buying one couldn't find one to test drive or even view in person.
• Also, in the distribution chain between American Honda and Honda dealers, there are a significant number of Insights in stock, sitting on dealer lots waiting to be purchased. Model Year 2000 Insights are projected to continue to be sold as late as May 2001. Full availability of the new model year 2001 model is not expected until Summer 2001.

Q: Why is the number of Insights sold significantly smaller than the highest VIN number we've seen?

A: Some people have been confused by the discrepancy between the actual Insight sales data and the highest VIN number reported in the Owner's Registry.

At least part of the discrepancy is due to the fact that all vehicles manufactured to date haven't been sold yet. Some are sitting on lots, some are still in transport from one part of the world/country to another. For example, car #536 was sold around the beginning of July 2000. However, this car must have been sitting around somewhere for at least three months, as car #562 was sold about three and a half months earlier, in March 2000.

Also, some of the discrepancy may be due to cars being sent to other countries. While the Insights going to Canada have their own sequence of serial numbers, this may not be the case for Insights bound for other countries. It is certainly clear that going just by the highest VIN seen so far isn't a very accurate measure of actual sales.

Q: Is it true that Honda is losing money on each Insight? How much?

A: Yes. Honda has never stated just how much it is costing them to produce each Insight, but have stated that overall they'll be losing money on the Insight over the first few years of working with this new technology.

Why are they doing this?

There are at least two motivations we know that Honda has for developing and selling the Insight:

• Real-world experience with this technology: As mentioned below, Honda clearly feels that this technology can be profitable in the long term. Many industry analysts also agree that there is great potential for hybrid-electric vehicles to fill the gap until the promise of technologies such as hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles are realized. Many of the major car manufacturers have hinted that they are working on developing their own hybrid electric vehicles. However, by forcing themselves to develop a car that will actually be sold to real consumers today, Honda has a big head start with this technology. They will have a few years of real world experience building, selling and maintaining these cars before other manufacturers are able to bring their hybrid technology to the market. Seen in this light, selling the Insight, even at a loss for each vehicle, is still a very prudent business decision.

• "Green" image: Another part of Honda's motivation to bring the Insight to the market now is certainly to sustain their image as a "green" car company. Honda has been ranked by more than one independent body as being the company that sells the cleanest operating cars of all major auto manufacturers. Nonetheless, with Toyota having had their hybrid car, the Prius, on the Japanese market since 1997, and with plans to begin selling the second generation Prius to North America and Europe, Honda undoubtedly felt that its "green" image was under threat. Toyota and Honda are known to have a strong and sometimes bitter rivalry.

Is it really possible to make this technology profitable?

Honda and several other auto manufacturers do believe the answer to this question is yes.

Honda has stated that it expects to begin turning a profit on their endeavors with the Insight within "a few years".

Clearly with all the unique technologies in the Insight, it cost a lot to develop. Adding to this equation is the fact that at a low production rate of under 10,000 cars annually, there is a lot of cost overhead for each car made. At the same time, we know that they have made serious efforts to make the Insight's technology cost effective. If you read the article from Insight Chief Engineer Kazuhiko Tsunoda, "Gaining New Insight Into Aluminum Body Production", you'll begin to get an appreciation for how much effort they've made just to make aluminum-bodied car construction cost-effective.

Honda has also stated that they plan to move the Insight's IMA hybrid technology to their mass-market Civic platform (see details, below), something that they certainly wouldn't attempt unless they believe that such a move can be profitable.

Honda's plans for other hybrid vehicles

Honda is expanding the IMA hybrid technology first introduced and proven in the Insight, into more mass market vehicles, beginning with the Civic.

Here is more information on what we know about the possibilities for these vehicles:

• IMA-equipped Civic: Honda has said that it will make an IMA hybrid version of the Civic available in Japan in December 2001, and in North America and Europe in spring of 2002.

  Since the hybrid Civic won't have the Insight's advanced aerodynamic and body technologies, it's fuel efficiency is expected to be "only" around 50 mpg. However, as a 5-seater, the Hybrid Civic will compete much more directly with Toyota's Prius.

  For detailed information on the hybrid Civic, see the Hybrid Civic / Insight comparison pages.

• Hybrid CR-V: Quoting Koichi Amemiya, Honda's top executive in North America, the Wall Street Journal reported that there is "a possibility" Honda may eventually offer a hybrid system in the CR-V.

  They also quoted him as saying, "We'd like to see how the Civic hybrid will be received in the marketplace first," before deciding on the CR-V.

  Honda is expected to launch a redesigned CR-V as early as this fall, but it will not offer the hybrid CR-V at that time. Honda will produce the new CR-V in Japan and Britain, both of which a Honda spokesman in Detroit said will export to North America. Honda will not produce the CR-V in North America, he said.

  One shouldn't expect an IMA-equipped version of the CR-V to come close to the Insight or even IMA Civic in terms of fuel efficiency or greenhouse gas emissions, but it could make the most efficient small SUV on the road.

• Hybrid NSX: The March 26th, 2001 issue of the Japanese publication Best Car Magazine reported that the next version of the Honda NSX (badged the Acura NSX in North America) will be a lot more similar to the Insight that previously expected. In October, 2001, similar information was published in U.K. magazine Auto Express.

  The NSX is Honda's high performance mid-engine super car; the closest thing anyone with $84,000 USD can come to driving a Honda Formula 1 race car.

  The NSX is produced at the same low-volume factory in Tochigi, Japan where the Insight is produced. Like the Insight, the NSX is one of a few all-aluminum bodied cars that are on the market today (others being the Audi A2, Audi A8 and Chrysler's Prowler). It was in fact partially Honda's experience building the all-aluminum NSX that made it possible to build the all-aluminum Insight in production numbers.

  Despite previous rumors to the contrary, Best Car Magazine now claims that the next version of the NSX will continue to have an all-aluminum body.

  More interestingly, they also report that it will use Honda's IMA hybrid technology. Here, though, the focus wouldn't be on energy & fuel efficiency, but on boosting performance to an even higher level. Nonetheless, it would also allow for an improvement in fuel efficiency, an area where the NSX already stands well above similar exotic automobiles.

  Auto Express describes the new NSX as a 400bhp version of the Insight, though the hybrid layout they describe is quite different. They describe the new NSX as keeping the mid-mounted ICE (3.5L V6), but adding an electric motor to drive the front wheels, making the car a 4WD. Auto Express also reports that testing of the new NSX is already underway at Honda's Japanese research and development center. It is reported that the new NSX is to be available in 2004.

How Long Will Honda Continue Making / Selling the Insight?

Honda has made no statements about how long they will be producing the Insight for. For this reason any answer to this question is pure speculation.

This of course hasn't stopped people from speculating or starting rumors.

The one thing Honda has made abundantly clear is that they want to continue to be known as the company that makes the cleanest and most efficient cars. They have made the Insight their "flagship" of environmentally responsible cars. It therefore stands to reason that Honda would continue making the Insight until they have created another car that surpasses the Insight's achievements.

Of course this doesn't guarantee that they won't step making the car tomorrow. However, beyond the disappointment of seeing such a great car no longer being made, this shouldn't have any major impact on existing Insight owners. Honda has an excellent record of providing parts and service for discontinued cars. Honda's plans to add IMA hybrid technology to other models also means that the availability of parts and knowledgeable technicians should only become more abundant.

This being said, there is no reason to expect the Insight's imminent demise. I should address some of the more persistent (and unfounded) rumors:

• "Sales are too low" In its first year, in the U.S. the Insight sold remarkably close to Honda's initial U.S. sales target of 4000 units that was established when the first announced the Insight. This includes the first few months when deliveries and sales were still very slow. Honda has since increased the annual number of Insights allocated to the U.S. to 6500 units, which is a good thing as there are now enough unsold Insights in the dealer network that it is possible for the buying public to go to a local dealer and view an Insight in person. Previously this was a big problem.

• "They will stop making the Insight when they begin adding IMA to their other models". Honda has explicitly said that when they begin selling the IMA Civic in the U.S., it will be with the goal of selling at least 17,000 hybrid cars a year, with a breakdown of about 5,000 Insights and 12,000 hybrid Civics.
  
• "Honda won't have the ability to produce both the Insight & new NSX" This is nonsense. Even assuming that the rumors of the new NSX continuing to be an aluminum bodied car with IMA are accurate, there is no reason to expect this to impact Insight production. The Takanezawa Plant where Honda produces special low volume vehicles such as the NSX, Insight & S2000 has been specifically tooled for flexibility, allowing the same equipment to be used for producing different vehicles.