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TOKYO -- The Honda Insight is back, this time with room for three more passengers.

Honda has revived the model name for the long-awaited dedicated hybrid vehicle tasked with taking on the Toyota Prius. And like its rival, it will be a five-door, five-passenger hatchback.

A concept version of the new Insight will debut at the Paris motor show in October, the company announced today. The car is expected to hit European showrooms in the first half of 2009.

The name is a carryover from Honda's first crack at the hybrid segment. The first generation Insight was billed as the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle.

But the first generation had just two seats and sold only 17,001 units from its launch in 1999 to 2006, when production ended. It was easily eclipsed by Toyota's Prius, which has sold more than 1 million since 1997 and remains the world's best selling hybrid vehicle.

"The name Insight was chosen to denote Honda's 'insight' into a new era in which hybrid vehicles come within reach of most car buyers," Honda Motor said in its release.

Honda has bigger ambitions for the second generation Insight. It is eyeing annual sales of 200,000 vehicles worldwide, with about half being sold in North America.

The car will sit on a new platform in which the battery and control unit are located beneath the cargo space. The gasoline engine will serve as the main power source, and the electric motor will assist when extra power is needed, such as during passing, start up and acceleration.

Honda did not release other details, but said it has made advances in cost control.

"Thanks to reductions in the weight and size of the Insight's key components, Honda has also achieved significant cost reductions," the company said.

Honda already has said the car will be slightly smaller and lighter than the Civic Hybrid -- the only hybrid now in Honda's lineup. It will also be priced lower than the Civic and Prius.

The Civic Hybrid's base price is $22,600, and the Prius starts at $21,500.

The next generation Insight kicks off a flurry of hybrid launches for Honda as it tries to catch Toyota in the race for greener vehicles. Honda is also planning a sporty hybrid based on the CR-Z, a new generation of the Civic hybrid and finally a hybrid version of its compact Fit.