"We were thinking again about the new Civic and all our models," said by CEO of Honda, Takanobu Ito, and Automotive News. "We have to review the progress and plans for our products to meet the needs of the environment."
According to the report as quoted by autoevolution.com, the Civic Hybrid model 2010 will be the first model in the ranks of Honda who will adopt lithium-ion battery to replaces the Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) which it is used for the current model.
Furthermore, Honda will replace the existed 1.3-liter engine with a 1.5 liter engine. This step is taken to improve performance and it is fuel efficiency. Currently, the Civic Hybrid 4-cylinder engine enhanced by 4 cylinders, 8-Valves, SOHC, i-VTEC for capacity of 1339 cc. This machine has a power of 110 hp and it is 123 lb-ft of torque.
This will make the Toyota Prius get double competitor. In addition, the Civic Hybrid, Honda also choose Insight. In America, the Honda Civic Hybrid start from U.S. $ 23.950.
Indeed, little details of how the new Civic Hybrid will be exposed later. But the new generation Civic Hybrid is designed to have a lighter weight, so it is more efficient in the use of more fuel efficient than the current version. Later, the Civic Hybrid will also be made smaller but will retain the vast interior.
Official launch date has not been released, but it is expected to preview new Civic Hybrid will be the beginning of 2011.
