All About Japan Autos

The Honda Fit is already a fuel-efficient little car that reviewers love for its versatile interior and zippy handling. But, imagine if it used even less fuel — but was still affordable. For Japanese buyers, that’s coming true.

“The upcoming Honda Fit Hybrid, which goes on sale in Japan in October of this year, will be the cheapest hybrid in the country with prices starting around 1.50 million yen ($18,600 USD),” writes egmCarTech. That’s “about 300,000 yen ($3,497 USD) less than the Honda Insight Hybrid and about 400,000 yen ($4,662 USD) more than the Fit’s gasoline version.”

The news has some excited about the Fit Hybrid’s prospects stateside. “If Honda’s pricing strategy for introducing the Honda Fit Hybrid in Japan is any indication, then the compact gas-electric car soon will be America’s most affordable hybrid,” says HybridCars.com. They add, “In the U.S., the cost premium for hybrids has been a critical obstacle for moving hybrids into the mainstream. Hybrids represent approximately 2.5 percent of the new car market.” Honda had sought an affordable hybrid hit with the Honda Insight, but the Insight so far has failed to garner a large share of the market, in large part because it’s only a little less expensive than the Toyota Prius, and has worse gas mileage.

But, hybrid fans shouldn’t get too excited yet. Car and Driver reports, “As of now, Honda says there are no plans to bring it to the U.S. market, but that doesn’t mean the Fit hybrid couldn’t be sold here at some point in the future.” If the Fit Hybrid makes its way to the U.S. market, we’ll tell you all about it.

If you’re in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars as well as this month’s best car deals.