Honda plans to show a concept version of its forthcoming small global hybrid at the Paris auto show in September. The car is expected to provide a clear picture of the production car, company sources say.

The new vehicle, set to reach European markets in spring 2009, is a key part of Honda CEO Takeo Fukui's strategy to broaden the appeal of hybrid models by making them more affordable. Fukui has said that he wants 10 percent of Honda's total passenger car output to be hybrid powered by 2010.

Smaller and cheaper

Honda has said the still-unnamed model was designed and engineered as a hybrid from the ground up. As such, the company says, it will be better packaged and more efficient than vehicles that have been re-engineered to incorporate hybrid elements.

The new Honda is smaller than both the Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius and, at an estimated sticker price of €16,000 to €20,000, will beat both on cost. The Civic Hybrid is priced at €23,800 in Germany while the Toyota Prius starts at €24,000.

Honda is planning initial production of 200,000 units a year, half of which will go to North America. About 50,000 are likely to come to Europe, where hybrids have been a tough sell.

Honda sold 10,515 Civic Hybrids in Europe in 2007, compared with 149,567 gasoline- or diesel-powered versions of the car. European sales of the Prius last year rose 41 percent over 2006 to 31,963.

The new Honda will use an updated version of the automaker's Intelligent Motor Assist system, which powers the Civic Hybrid. This so-called "mild" hybrid system has an electric motor that assists the gasoline engine with acceleration and provides regenerative braking to recharge the batteries.

Unlike the Prius, which is a so-called "full" hybrid that can operate using either its electric motor or gasoline engine, the Civic cannot move under electric power alone.

Under 100g/km CO2?

Honda UK product planning director Mark Turner says the new hybrid is being developed to deliver "substantially lower" carbon-dioxide emissions than either diesel or non-hybrid competitors.

"Delivering under 100 grams per kilometer of CO2 is part of the consideration phase on this car, but we don't know the actual fuel economy yet," Turner said.

Lowering emissions to that level would be a significant feat. The Civic Hybrid, which will continue in production, emits 109 g/km of CO2; the Toyota Prius, 106 g/km.

At the Detroit auto show in January, Fukui said the Japanese automaker also plans to add another hybrid-only vehicle to the lineup and upgrade the Civic over the next three years, which could lower the costs for all three models.

The third model would be based on the CR-Z concept displayed at the show, he said.

"Around 2011, with those three models ready to go," Fukui said, "we'll be producing 400,000 to 500,000 hybrids a year."