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[extract] The Nikkei reports that Honda Motor Co. plans to assemble the hybrid version of its Fit (or Jazz) subcompact in Thailand starting this summer. This is the company

Honda has introduced the Japan domestic market version of its new Fit (Jazz in Singapore) Hybrid alongside wth the regular Fit model, which benefits from a minor cosmetic update with equipment upgrades for the 2011 model year. The company's head of domestic sales, Hiroshi Kobayashi said Honda has already received 10,000 orders for the Fit Hybrid, which was given its world premiere at the recent Paris Motor Show. The newly-added Fit Hybrid will be offered locally at the starting price of 1.59 million yen, making it the most affordable gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle in Japan. Honda said the JDM version of the hybrid model has a fuel economy of 30km/liter under the Japanese highway test system. The car, which makes use of the same IMA system with a 1.3 liter i-VTEC engine as the Insight Hybrid, will go on sale in certain European markets from early 2011 as the Jazz Hybrid. Honda has not yet to announce its sales in other parts of the world. The new Fit Hybrid is joined in Japan by a subtly refreshed version of the regular gasoline-powered Fit with a 1.3-liter engine. The modest facelift is limited to new grille and bumper (front and rear) designs which are said to help improve the car's aerodynamic efficiency. Revised tail lamps and updated interior trims complete the facelift.

Japan's Mainichi Shimbun daily reported that Honda will launch the long-awaited hybrid version of its Fit (Jazz in Singapore) subcompact in its domestic market in October with prices set to start from around 1.6 million yen, or about US$18,900, making it the country's most affordable hybrid model. The Fit Hybrid, which is said to employ the same 1.3-liter gasoline engine and electric motor set up as the Insight, will cost 400,000 Yen (US$4,700) more than the conventional Fit in Japan. At present, it remains unclear if the Fit / Jazz Hybrid will arrive in other markets outside Japan.