Honda drops compact CR-Z hybrid

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. is killing off the compact CR-Z hybrid, a slow-selling, sporty runabout whose performance struggled to live up to its hot-hatch looks.

Production of the made-in-Japan car will cease by year’s end, Honda spokeswoman Nao Uzawa said Friday. Output for the U.S. market has already ended as Honda places its green-car focus there around the re-engineered Accord Hybrid with its upgraded drivetrain.

The CR-Z hit the market in 2010 to rave reviews for its inspired styling and the novelty of applying an environmentally friendly gasoline-electric system in a sporty ride. The package promised to be a modern spiritual incarnation of the tuner-classic CR-X, blending the best of Honda’s latest eco-friendly technology with its heritage for spirited driving.

But the CR-Z was a compromise solution that never really scored high in fuel economy nor in sporty performance. Honda has since moved on to much sportier hybrid offerings, such as the three motor systems offered in the Acura RLX and NSX sports car.

Honda sold 5,249 CR-Zs in the U.S. in 2010.

Last year, U.S. sales slid 14 percent to 3,073 vehicles. Through June of this year, CR-Z sales were down another 6.7 percent to 1,205 vehicles. It is being handily outsold in the U.S. by both the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and the Chevrolet Volt.

Globally, sales peaked at 33,745 vehicles in 2010 and slumped to 4,271 last year.

In Japan, Honda is sending off the CR-Z with a special edition dubbed “Final Label.”

Honda is setting its sights higher for the re-engineered 2017 Accord Hybrid, which went on sale this year. The company expects annual U.S. deliveries to exceed the 30,000-unit level.

“Honda, speaking from the U.S. market only, has shifted our hybrid resources to the all new 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid,” spokesman James Jenkins said. “We have high hopes on this vehicle and are forecasting sales to double [that of] the prior generation.”

Honda consolidated production of the Accord Hybrid at its Sayama plant north of Tokyo for the current version. The carmaker also had been making the Accord Hybrid in the U.S. but ended output there last summer as to boost factory utilization rates in Japan.

The CR-Z is manufactured at Honda’s Suzuka factory in Japan.