25 Years After Launching America’s First Hybrid, 25 Percent Of Honda’s Sales Are Hybrids

The turn of the century was an important time for Honda. The Japanese automaker brought its first hybrid to market, the fuel sipping and uniquely aerodynamic Insight coupe that also was the first hybrid to be sold in the United States. The first-generation Insight remans the most fuel-efficient vehicle ever brought to market with its 70-mpg highway rating. Now, 25 years later, Honda is celebrating its hybrid legacy and another important milestone.

Honda announced that hybrids now make up 25 percent of its overall sales. It’s not surprising that Honda has achieved that many hybrid sales, as its Accord, Civic and CR-V Hybrids are some of the most popular models on the market; Honda sold over 38,000 of them in November alone. Jessika Laudermilk, Vice President of Honda Auto Sales, says this milestone marks an important step towards the automaker’s goal of zero emissions by 2050.

Twenty-five years after making history with America’s first hybrid-electric vehicle, hybrids now account for more than 25% of Honda auto sales. “As we advance step-by-step toward our goal of carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities, our popular hybrid models are a critical part of our longer-term electrification strategy that supports our ultimate goal of zero environmental impact by 2050.

It’s been a long time coming for Honda to reach this milestone. After the original Insight debuted, Honda would go on to make numerous other hybrid models over the years, including two more generations of Insight, the CR-Z and the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. Aside from recently introducing the excellent Civic Hybrid and CR-V Fuel Cell, Honda plans to introduce a second EV to its lineup in 2026. This new model will be previewed by a concept that’ll be shown at CES that’s known as Honda 0 Series.