Honda to roll out plug-in Hybrid and Electric Car in 2013

Honda Motor Co. is working on a hybrid car that can be recharged at home and an all-electric vehicle, both for release in about three years, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Honda President Takanobu Ito will announce the company's hybrid and alternative vehicle plans at a news conference on Tuesday, the paper reported in its Tuesday editions.

Honda is also considering building hybrids in the United States, the paper said.

Conventional hybrids are cars that can charge their own batteries, which turn a motor that assists a gasoline-powered engine providing most of the power. Plug-in hybrids, on the other hand, can make short trips using the motor alone.

Honda expects its plug-in hybrid to go 60 kilometers (37 miles) or more on a single liter of gas, making it more fuel-efficient than rival Toyota Motor Corp.'s best-selling hybrid, the Prius, the Nikkei said.

Honda will release its electric car in the United States first, the daily reported.

The company is considering manufacturing the Honda Insight and two other hybrids in the U.S. markets and plans to expand its lineup of hybrids to five or so by 2013, the Nikkei said.

(Reuters)

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