Honda Motor Company has racked up another milestone in its history, confirming that global total sales of its hybrid vehicles topped the 1 million mark at the end of last month. It came 12 years and 11 months after the automaker’s first hybrid, the original Honda Insight, went on sale in Japan in November 1999. The Insight also went on sale here in America later that same year as a 2000 model. It wasn’t until April 2005 that Honda hybrids hit the 100,000 unit mark, helped by the addition of gas/electric versions of the Civic and Accord.
Today, eight different models of Honda hybrids are sold in nearly 50 countries around the world. To date, the U.S. has accounted for over 318,000 of those cars with the current lineup here including the Honda Civic, Honda CR-Z, Honda Insight and Acura ILX Hybrid.
While all of these cars are fitted with a one-motor "mild-hybrid" version of the automaker’s original IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) system, Honda is currently preparing to launch even more sophisticated alternatives. The first to arrive will be a new two-motor hybrid package for mid-size vehicles that will be introduced here early next year in the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid Sedan and later, fitted to the Accord Hybrid Sedan. Beyond that, a powerful and super-efficient three-motor setup that incorporates Sport Hybrid SH-AWD will appear in here the 2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid as well as the next-gen Acura NSX due sometime in 2014.
