Hybrid car entrants from Hyundai Motor Company and Japan’s Honda and Toyota will lock horns in the W20-million price range segment (US$1=W1,040) in next year’s second half.

Honda Korea said Sunday it will release its New Insight hybrid at a similar cost to its Civic 1.8 (W25.9 million) in the latter half of next year. The estimated price is comparable to Hyundai’s Avante LPG Hybrid, which will premiere in Korea in July of next year. Toyota’s hybrid Prius will hit Korea in October of next year, likely costing W29 million.

Honda said Thursday that New Insight will be sold in the U.S. from April next year at $18,500 which is cheaper than the U.S. price of Civic 1.8, sold at W25.9 million in Korea. New Insight is similar in size with Korean carmaker Kia’s Pride Hatchback and has higher fuel efficiency of 30km/L than the Civic hybrid (23.2km/L).

A Toyota official has recently said the company is trying to lower the price of the Prius to below W30 million for sale in Korea.

Hyundai’s Avante hybrid is expected to cost W20-24 million, W4 million higher than the existing Avante. A Hyundai official says the Avante hybrid, running on LPG which is half the price of gasoline, will be far more fuel-efficient than rival Japanese brands, stressing the competitive edge in both price and economy.

When a Honda executive said last week that his company plans to roll out a “Prius Fighter” hybrid next spring, it marked the latest proclamation from an automaker that it had a model to beat the king of the hybrids.

And once again I’m curious if this challenge will truly be a challenge to Toyota Motor
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Yes, I know those of you who call me “Toyota Phil” think I will defend the Japanese automaker to the end of time. But in this case, I am not ready to easily dismiss Honda
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Why?

- Honda is, at its core, an engine company. It knows how to make a hybrid that can stand toe-to-toe with the Toyota hybrid engine.

- Honda learned from its failure with past hybrids. Remember a few years ago, when its hybrid lineup fizzled? The company won’t make the same mistake of sticking a hybrid engine in an existing model and expecting that to sell.

- Honda can parlay its image as the automaker with a fuel efficient lineup of cars. Look at which automakers are doing the best handling the current fall-off in sales, and only one stands out: Honda.

This doesn’t mean I’m writing off Toyota. Let’s be honest: the Prius practically created the hybrid segment. And for many people it’s still the gold standard. That built-in advantage will make it tough for Honda, or any other automaker, to steal the Prius’ crown.

The hybrid wars are about to heat up; and for once, I think there could be a true fight.