The 2006 version of the Prius won't go on sale until Nov

Consumers bought more hybrid vehicles in the first six months of 2005 than they did in all of 2004, and automakers including Honda are competing aggressively for shares of that booming market.

Honda said Tuesday in Japan that its redesigned 2006 Civic Hybrid, which goes on sale in October, will get 5 percent better gas mileage than the 2005 model.

According to press reports from Tokyo, the Civic will top the hybrid bestseller, Toyota's Prius, in fuel economy. But Andy Boyd, spokesman for American Honda in Torrance, said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's mileage testing differs from the method used in Japan, so he's not sure yet whether Honda will be able to make that claim in the United States.

Still, Boyd said, the 2006 Civic Hybrid will achieve a 3 mpg gain vs. the 2005 model. The 2005 Civic Hybrid gets 47 to 48 mpg in city driving and 47 to 48 mpg on the highway when equipped with an automatic transmission, according to the government's www. fueleconomy.gov Web site.

That means the 2006 version ``will be 50 or better for both city and highway,'' Boyd said.

``In the real world, we'll be very competitive'' with Prius, he said.

U.S. car buyers bought 85,699 hybrids in 2004. So far this year, they've bought 92,558. The Prius, at 53,308 in sales, is responsible for about 58 percent of hybrid market. Honda's three models -- the Civic, Accord and Insight -- account for about 23 percent.

Few details of the 2006 Civic Hybrid were released in Tokyo by Honda Senior Managing Director Motoatsu Shiraishi, according to reports by the Associated Press and Bloomberg News. Boyd said Honda engineers improved the car's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system, giving it better battery power, greater engine efficiency and a ``big improvement in regenerative braking,'' which recharges the battery.

Despite the improvements, the Prius still will get better mpg in city driving. The 2005 Prius gets 51 mpg on the highway and 60 mpg in city driving, according to the EPA.

Honda's tiny two-seat Insight, at 61/66 city/highway mpg, remains the most fuel-stingy hybrid.

Toyota isn't sitting still while Honda improves its hybrid lineup. The Japanese daily Asahi Shinbum reported Tuesday that Toyota intends to double its hybrid production in 2006 to 500,000 units, mainly to satisfy North American demand. Toyota has said it will produce hybrid versions of its Camry sedan in Kentucky next year, and add another hybrid to its Lexus lineup in 2006.

The hybrids from Toyota and Ford are considered full hybrids because their electric motors can move the cars when the gasoline engine isn't running. With Honda's current hybrid system, the electric motor boosts the gasoline engine but doesn't move the drive wheels by itself.

While differences will still exist in Toyota's and Honda's systems, the 2006 Civic Hybrid will be able to operate -- at times -- solely on electric power for the first time. ``Not from a start,'' Boyd said, ``but in a low-speed cruising mode, like going down a boulevard at 30 mph in a fairly steady state.''

It's clear from Tuesday's announcement that Honda continues to fight Toyota in the battle of public perception over which company is more committed to the environment.

Last week, for instance, Honda began leasing one of its hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to a family in Southern California.

There's no question, however, that Toyota is selling more hybrids. It's expected to sell 100,000 Prius models this year.

Sales of the Honda Civic Hybrid are ``a fraction of that,'' said Anthony Pratt, senior manager of global power rain forecasting at J.D. Power-LMC Automotive Forecasting Services.

``If they want to continue to get recognition for being environmentally responsible or as a leader in hybrid technology, they need to try to keep this in the press,'' he said.

The 2006 version of the Prius won't go on sale until November, Toyota spokesman Sam Butto said Tuesday. The company hasn't released details of how that model will change, but Butto said ``performance attributes should not be changing, but some new amenities will be available.''

Toyota's second hybrid, the 2006 Highlander sport-utility, went on sale June 6. Lexus, Toyota's upscale division, put its own hybrid SUV, the RX 400h, on sale in April.

Ford's hybrid Escape sport-utility went on sale in October. A hybrid Mercury Mariner, a slightly upscale version of the Escape, becomes available in the fall, but dealers will begin taking orders Monday.

Power-LMC said hybrid sales, which accounted for 0.5 percent of the U.S. auto market in 2004, would grow to 3.5 percent by 2012. And the number of hybrid models available will grow from 10 in 2005 to 44 by 2012.


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