Honda Hybrid, Honestly: Electrified Civic Returning in 2024

Appealing to customers who’d like a dose of electrons with their new Civic – or, perhaps more likely, appeasing dealers whining about the existence of a Corolla Hybrid, the crew at Honda is rolling out an electrified variant of the popular Civic next year.

Readers with good memories will know this isn’t their first kick at the hybrid can, with a Civic Hybrid first appearing about two decades ago in its home market. Around these parts, the model vanished in 2015 and hasn’t been spoken of again in any official capacity until today. This time around, Honda plans to offer the powertrain in both sedan and hatchback forms. 

In a bid to prove that much of this car’s assembled parts are homegrown, the company has taken pains to mention the two-motor hybrid-electric power unit built by the Honda Transmission Plant and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine made at the Anna Engine Plant. Both those plants are in Ohio. If all this sounds familiar, that’s because both those facilities already support the production of the Honda CR-V hybrid.

Powertrain numbers weren’t announced for this market, but it is worth noting that EU-spec Civic Hybrids apparently make 181 horses and 232 lb-ft of torque. For what it’s worth, the CR-V Hybrid mentioned above – which also uses a naturally-aspirated 2.0L and two-motor system – is good for 204 ponies and 247 units of twist in the North American market.

"Our associates are proud to play an important role in the Honda electrification strategy by adding production of the new Civic hybrid to the CR-V hybrid we now build,” said Roxanna Metz, plant co-lead of the Indiana Auto Plant. Talking heads from the company are speculating the Civic Hybrid could comprise more than 40 percent of Civic sales; this seems like a lofty goal until one is informed that over 56 percent of American sales of the CR-V and Accord are hybrids, with more than one-quarter of Honda’s total sales in this country having some form of electrification.

Production of the new Civic hybrid sedan is planned to begin in spring 2024 at Honda’s plant in Alliston, Ontario. This will be followed by the hatchback, which will be manufactured at the Indiana Auto Plant. 

[Image: Honda]

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