Honda Motor Co. said it will hold the world debut of its new 2009 Honda Insight hybrid at the North American International Auto Show this January in Detroit.
The unveiling of the company's newest hybrid comes amid a massive auto industry downturn that has led six carmakers to pull out of the Detroit event, traditionally North America's top car show.
Nissan, Suzuki, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Mitsubishi and Land Rover all said they would pass on the Detroit event. Porsche is skipping the show for the second year.
Even Honda plans to scale back at the show with a less extravagant unveiling for the Insight, said Sage Marie, spokesman for Torrance-based American Honda Motor Co. Inc., the car company's U.S. headquarters.
"We're foregoing the traditional unveiling," Marie said. "Nobody's immune (to the industry downturn) and we're looking at ways to be more efficient."
He added that Honda had previously unveiled a concept version of the Insight at the Paris and Los Angeles auto shows. The concept version is very similar to the production model to be displayed at the Detroit show, he added.
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