The Insight rides on an all-new platform as a bespok hybrid, as opposed to offering a hybrid version of an existing vehicle as is the case with the current Honda Civic hybrid and the Honda Fit hybrid planned by 2015.

The Insight will be smaller than a Civic and CEO Takeo and will be priced significantly below current hybrids. It is expected cost about $19,000, keeping it within the automaker’s goal of pricing it competitively against conventional small vehicles in its segment. The new 2010 Insight will position itself as an affordable hybrid for customers who want great fuel economy and great value.

Honda's Insight expected sale date is April 22 Earth Day and Honda projects global annual sales of over 200,000, half of which are for the North American market. But Honda is known for conservative numbers, and given that it will go head-to-head with the Toyota Prius, which has sold almost 120,000 in the first 8 months of this year in the U.S. alone, we would not be surprised to see Honda exceed these modest forecasts.

In looks, the new hatch bears a familial resemblance to Honda’s other poster car for alternative fuels the FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle, but the Insight also shares an aerodynamically raked front, stubby tail, and an overall profile with the Prius. Both offer five-passenger seating and plenty of cargo space inside a relatively small body. The Insight’s folding rear seats further accentuate the cargo hold.

In terms of propulsion, the Insight gets a smaller, lighter and much less expensive version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system that is in the Civic. The smaller pack of nickel metal hydride batteries is stored under the trunk floor. Honda says lithium-ion batteries aren’t yet a viable option.

The New 2010 Insight will be built on new assembly lines at Honda’s Suzuka, Japan, which currently builds the Civic hybrid. It is the first of a hybrid onslaught that also calls for production of the CR-Z hybrid sports car concept shown at the 2007 Tokyo auto show, a new Honda Civic hybrid, and the addition of the Fit hybrid all by 2015, at which point the automaker’s goal is to be selling half a million hybrids per year globally.

Toyota will sell its next-generation Prius as a 2010 model, also with its nickel metal hydride batteries. The successor is expected to be larger then the current model. Lexus likely will show a new hybrid, as well, at the Detroit auto show next January.

Honda used to have an Accord hybrid in its lineup, but it was dropped at the end of the 2007 model year due to slow sales, attributed partly to the fact that the hybrid didn’t look much different than a regular Accord. The other problem was the hybrid wasn’t much more fuel efficient than a conventional Accord with a four-cylinder, making it hard to justify an extra $6000 for the electric motor.