Honda to focus on selling hybrid vehicles, light trucks in US this year

(Reuters) – Honda Motor said on Thursday it would continue to focus on sales of hybrid models and light trucks in the United States this year in response to more demand for those vehicles.

Legacy car manufacturers narrowed their focus to hybrid vehicles over the past year as buyers snapped up more of those in place of all-electric models.

“In 2023, we were finally able to meet the pent-up demand for our products,” said American Honda’s senior vice president of sales, Mamadou Diallo.

The company expects full-year sales in the United States to jump between 10% and 15% from a year ago.

Honda’s U.S. electrified sales, which includes hybrid vehicles and some fuel-cell models, rose a little over three times in 2023.

The Japanese automaker also said it would begin sales of three zero-emission vehicles in 2024.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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