In a bid to go head-to-head with the popular Toyota Prius, Honda Motor Co. plans to introduce a five-door hybrid, priced under the Prius to the North American market in 2009.

Approximately 200,000 of the hatchbacks will be built globally with 100,000 imported to North America. In design, the new hybrid will be somewhat smaller than the Civic, currently the third bestseller in the U.S. behind the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

The vehicle will be a hybrid-only, not a hybrid version of an existing model. Honda hopes this strategy will appeal to a wider range of buyers.

The executive vice president of American Honda, Dick Colliver, speaking at a Management Briefing Seminar and quoted in Automotive News said, "For consumers who are interested in fuel economy and the environment, having a specific individual product is important to them."

The decision Honda made to continue to hold to its concentration on small, fuel-efficient cars has held up well during months of $4 a gallon gasoline. The company is the only major automaker to see an increase in its July sales, up 3.2 percent from 2007.

"Fuel efficiency is one of our core values," Colliver said. "Small, efficient vehicles are not short-term strategies for Honda. They are part of a fundamental commitment that goes back to Honda's entry into the auto industry in the 1970s."