We heard the rumor about Honda contemplating the termination of the Insight liftback and CR-Z hybrid models in Europe due to weak sales from an unnamed source last year, but now, it’s official.
A Honda spokesman told Autonews Europe that the automaker will “sell off its remaining European stocks” of the two models. As pointed out in the report, the Insight and CR-Z have disappeared from Honda’s websites in Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain, with The Netherlands only offering the Insight. The two cars are currently available in France and the UK.
The Japanese carmaker sold a mere 1,245 Insights in Europe last year, down 62 percent over 2012, with the CR-Z performing even worse with a 66 percent drop to 695 units, according to data sourced from Jato Dynamics. Even the more popular Jazz Hybrid saw its sales tumble to 4,500 units in 2013, down from around 7,500 the previous year, yet Honda insists that its hybrid sales are “steady”.
“We’ve had seen a steady sales for our hybrids since we launched them, but recently we’ve seen a strong demand for low-emission diesel technology,” the spokesman told the news agency.
For what it’s worth, a similar rumor questioning the Insight’s future in the USA was also going around in December.
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