Report: Honda will develop a hybrid that bests Prius' mpg rating

Honda is planning on taking on the Toyota Prius. Again. Even though sales figures for 2009 proved that people liked Toyota's hybrid more than Honda's, the company is not going to just roll over. There's a new ad campaign for the Insight planned, but Honda is looking a bit further down the line for revenge. CEO Takanobu Ito reportedly told his research and development team to come up with a hybrid that has a better miles per gallon rating than the world's most popular hybrid. Whether this is a next-gen Insight or a totally different hybrid has not yet been decided, but it's going to need a major boost to knock the leader off its perch.

Here are the numbers:

• Insight's 2009 sales: 20,572
• Prius's 2009 sales: 139,682
• U.S. mpg rating for the Insight : 40/43 city/highway
• For the Prius: 51/48

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]