Honda to scrub natural gas, hybrid Civics because of slow sales

Slow sales and falling gasoline prices have prompted Honda to stop selling gas-electric hybrid and natural gas-powered versions of its Civic compact car.

The company also said that it will discontinue a plug-in rechargeable version of the midsize Accord.

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But it plans to roll out a new, more efficient version of the Accord hybrid early next year. And a new plug-in Accord will come at a later date.

Executive vice-president John Mendel said Monday in a statement that production of the natural gas Civic already has been halted, and hybrid Civic production will end after the 2015 model year.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline nationwide was $2.80 US on Monday, 86 cents below a year ago.

Mendel also said the small number of natural gas refuelling stations continue to be a challenge for owners. Honda sold only about 16,000 natural gas Civics since 1998. Mendel said Honda will continue to service the natural gas cars.

Through May, Honda has sold only 1,873 hybrid Civics out of a total of 129,574, according to Autodata Corp. Natural gas Civic sales for the year were not released.

Part of the reason for the slow hybrid and natural gas Civic sales is the progress that Honda and other automakers have made getting better mileage out of gas-powered vehicles.

In Canada,the natural gas Civic model is not offered. "Our plan for the hybrid model in Canada is same as the U.S. and 2015 will bethe last model year for the Civic hybrid,"MakiInoue, a spokesman for Honda Canada told CBC News.