TORRANCE, Calif. -- Honda announced plans today to introduce a new hybrid vehicle in 2009, replacing the aging Insight two-seater – which will end production this September. Honda officials report that the new hybrid will be smaller and more affordable than the current Civic model. Though Honda officials would not comment directly, it’s clear that the company’s goal for the new hybrid is to offer best-in-class fuel economy. Built in Suzuka, Japan, the vehicle will be a dedicated hybrid based on a new global platform, meaning that Honda will not shoehorn a hybrid powertrain into an existing vehicle. Honda officials expect worldwide sales to reach 200,000 -- with 100,000 sales coming from North America.

The Insight debuted in 1999 as a 2000 model, and was the first mainstream hybrid vehicle sold in America. Since then, competition has grown considerably, but the Insight remains the highest mileage car for sale, registering 60/66 city and highway miles per gallon from it’s three-cylinder, 73-horsepower engine. Its beetle shape and diminutive size made the Insight a unique car in a world of eight-passenger vehicles and oversized trucks.

The announcement debunks speculation about the debut of a Honda Fit Hybrid in 2007. Earlier this year, the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbum reported that a hybrid Fit would be sold in the US for under $20,000, making it the least expensive hybrid available and giving Honda a lower-priced and more fuel-efficient vehicle than what Toyota currently offers, thus sparking a subcompact hybrid war between automakers.