Honda may within five years sell a sport-utility vehicle that runs on gasoline and electricity, helping it catch Toyota in the market for lower-emission vehicles.
The hybrid vehicle would use engine technology used in its gasoline-powered Inspire luxury sedan and Odyssey minivan to keep fuel consumption at levels competitive with conventional autos, Honda president Takeo Fukui said
Auto makers are spending billions of dollars on hybrid or fuel-cell powered cars as emission laws tighten. Honda is only the second to market dual-fuel cars after Toyota, which began two years earlier and has sold almost four times as many.
Honda needs better fuel-efficiency to move the technology from smaller compacts to the $250-billion SUV market.
