Honda to Sell Civic Hybrid in China

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd will market its hybrid Civic in China before the end of the

year, becoming the second carmaker after Toyota Motor Corp (nyse: TM - news - people ) to offer a hybrid car in China, the Nikkei reported on Thursday.

Dongfeng Honda (nyse: HMC - news - people ) Automobile Co, the joint venture of Honda and China's Dongfeng Motor Corp, has applied to the Chinese government to import the hybrid Civic and sales will begin as soon as permission is granted, the business daily said, without citing sources.

Honda will initially import a modified version of the hybrid Civic sold in the United States, but eventually Dongfeng Honda Automobile will manufacture the car locally for the Chinese market.

The imported hybrid Civic will be priced at around 250,000 yuan, while the Toyota Prius hybrid is currently sold at around 300,000 yuan, according to Nikkei. Honda targets annual sales of 500-1,000 units.

(1 US dollar = 118.80 yen; 7.57 yuan)

yasuhiko.seki@thomson.com

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