After discontinuing the Civic-based Insight following the 2023 model year, Honda has been left with just two hybrid models on sale, the Accord and the CR-V. Despite the lack of model variety, it turns out those two remaining hybrids are a huge boon for Honda, as they both made up 25 percent of the brand’s total U.S. sales in 2023.
Honda sold 1,162,531 vehicles in the U.S. in 2023, a 32.4 percent increase over 2022. 197,947 units of the Accord lineup were moved while the CR-V was far and away Honda’s best-seller with 361,457 of the crossovers delivered. Of those 559,404 Accords and CR-Vs that were sold, 293,640 of them were the hybrid versions, with those electrified models making up more than 50 percent of sales for the two cars and just over 25 percent of Honda’s overall sales.
Now this isn’t a huge surprise; Honda has structured the Accord and CR-V so the hybrid versions are the only options for the majority of trim levels. On the CR-V the entry-level LX and mid-range EX and EX-L are offered with a normal turbocharged four-cylinder while the Sport, Sport-L and Sport Touring are only available as the hybrid, while for the Accord the base LX and EX are the sole nonhybrid offerings, with the rest of the lineup coming with the hybrid powertrain.
The CR-V hybrid is a good deal more efficient than the standard model, offering up to 40 mpg combined versus 30 mpg for the turbo engine. It’s similar when you look at the Accord, where the hybrid gets up to 48 mpg combined while the base engine only achieves 32 mpg. This is a great way to reduce emissions across the model lineups and the brand as a whole — just look at the new Toyota Camry, which could save American drivers 48 million gallons of gas per year by going hybrid-only.
2024 will also see the addition of a new hybrid version of the Civic to the lineup. We don’t yet know pricing, fuel economy figures or trim structure for the Civic hybrid, but expect a similar setup to the Accord and CR-V. Honda sold 200,381 Civics in 2023, an increase of 50 percent over 2022, and I wouldn’t be surprise to see sales and take rates for the new hybrid match or exceed those of the Accord and CR-V.