Honda Motor Co., the world's second-biggest maker of gasoline-electric autos, is redesigning its Civic Hybrid and improving the small car's fuel economy to try to win U.S. sales from Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius.
The revamped Civic "will be a stronger competitor," John Mendel, sales chief of Honda's Torrance-based U.S. unit, said in an interview this week. "I think you'll see a vehicle that from a performance standpoint will be spot on or better than Prius. Better packaging, better safety."