Honda prepping new subcompact for Paris Motor Show launch

(AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA)

Honda is to launch a hybrid version of its Jazz subcompact at the Paris Motor Show, the automaker has confirmed.

According to reports in British motoring publication AutoExpress, Honda says the hybrid Jazz will take center stage at the Paris Motor Show, which runs October 2-17.

The compact vehicle is expected to be one of the smallest and cheapest hybrids on the market, retailing in the UK for around £14,500 (€17,400).

In Japan, where the Jazz is known as the Fit, newspapers reported in June that the vehicle would go on sale in autumn priced at 1.5 million yen (€13,185), making it the cheapest hybrid in Japan.

The Toyota Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid, is priced at 2.1 million yen (€18,455) in Japan and £19,885 (€23,860) in the UK.

Based on the powertrain currently used in the Honda Insight - a 1.3 liter gas engine with a 9.7 kW electric motor - the smaller, lighter Jazz could manage efficiency levels of up to 70 mpg.

It is expected to go on sale in Japan later this year and Europe in 2011, although a North American version has not been confirmed.

The Paris Motor Show runs in Paris October 2-17.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/

http://www.mondialautomobile.com/