P3 and ASIMO - The Honda Humanoid Robots

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What will be the most important 2009 hybrid car developments? The biggest stories will be the release of the third-generation Prius and the return of the Honda Insight. Both are high-volume well-priced options for mainstream car buyers. We will also see the first hybrid introductions from Mercedes and BMW, and improved vehicles from Ford, Honda, Chevrolet, and Saturn. By the end of the year, new plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles will make debuts—although as niche offerings. Despite tough economic times and a shrinking US vehicle market, demand for hybrids continues to outpace the overall market. We expect the hybrid market to defy the gravity of a recession in 2009. Hybrid sales—as a percentage of all new car sales—are likely to expand from just under 3 percent in 2008, to beyond 3.5 percent in 2009. That will mean almost 500,000 new hybrids hitting American roads in 2009. The Toyota Prius—the third-generation version to debut in January—will continue to sell about half of all hybrids, but will be joined by another big-seller: the 2010 Honda Insight. Honda has a US sales target of 100,000 units per year. The remaining sales will come from a field of hybrids that will grow from 15 models in late 2008 to beyond 20—including the first hybrid from Mercedes, a dedicated hybrid-only model from Lexus, and the two-mode full hybrid version of the Saturn Vue small SUV.