2009 Honda Civic Hybrid for FlexiCar

Car sharing, already an acknowledged way of being green about your motoring, has just become a whole lot more environmentally friendly with the announcement today that major player FlexiCar has added two Honda Civic Hybrids to its fleet.

On the eve of World Environment Day, Honda Australia announced it is providing the two Civic Hybrids to Flexicar, as a contribution to sustainable driving.

The initiative is an Australian first for the car industry and Honda believes it will assist with the
growing demand for low emission vehicles on Australian roads.

Interestingly, although Flexicar does already have a strong corporate tie-up with Honda as it uses the Jazz extensively in its fleet of 70 cars, the Toyota Prius was evaluated but rejected as “too quirky and confronting” for Flexicar’s 2000-strong clientele.

Car sharing is a fast-growing international trend, which began in Europe in the 1980s and is now active in more than 900 cities across Europe, North America and Asia.

Founded in 2005, Flexicar says it identified the need to introduce a hybrid to its fleet in response to growing consumer concern about the environment, coupled with increased petrol prices.

Honda Australia Senior Director, Lindsay Smalley said this initiative epitomises Honda’s philosophy of leaving blue skies for our children, which was the vision of its founder Mr Soichiro Honda.

“Honda pioneered hybrid technology in Australia, launching the original Honda Insight in 2001,” Mr Smalley said.

“We now sell the country’s most affordable hybrid, the Honda Civic Hybrid and we are set to launch the world’s most affordable hybrid, the second-generation Honda Insight, in Australia in 2010.”

Sharing a mutual commitment to sustainability, Flexicar CEO and founder, Monique Conheady said Honda is the perfect partner for this initiative.

“Honda’s industry leading position in hybrid technology made it the preferred choice. The majority of our fleet is made up of the Honda Jazz, due to its fuel efficiency and low emissions, so to now add a hybrid to our fleet is a huge step forward for us,” Ms Conheady said.

She told CarAdvice that the Toyota Prius had also been evaluated for the fleet but was considered too confronting and quirky for the Flexicar user, who wanted a stylish vehicle that fitted their lifestyle.

The uniquely branded Honda Civic Hybrid was unveiled today in Melbourne by renowned fashion designer and Civic Hybrid driver, Akira Isogawa.

Akira took the first drive of the Melbourne-based vehicle, which will be located outside Flagstaff Gardens for the next two months, before moving to another inner city location.

Victorians are not the only ones set to benefit from the initiative, the second Honda Civic Hybrid will be located in Surry Hills, Sydney, with both vehicles available to Flexicar customers for the next 12 months.