Honda Motor Co. plans to produce more of its new Insight hybrid cars from April, having received orders for almost three times its monthly sales target for the gasoline-electric model it launched on Feb. 6 in Japan, a top official said today.Honda plans to launch the Insight, its first attempt at a low-cost, high-volume hybrid, in Europe and the United States over the next two months.

Japan’s No.2 automaker is targeting global sales of 200,000 Insights a year, with half of that in North America and 60,000 in Japan, hoping to rival Toyota Motor Corp. as a leader in the hybrid segment.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Hiroshi Kobayashi, deputy chief operating officer for Honda’s domestic operations, told a small group of reporters at a test-drive event in Tokyo.

“We will have to increase production plans,” he said. But he stopped short of saying how much it could expand output given possible supply limits for hybrid components.

Customers in Japan will have to wait at least one month for an Insight if they ordered one today, he said.

Honda is positioning the Insight as its fifth “global car” alongside the Civic, Accord, Fit and CR-V cars, which collectively make up about two-thirds of its car sales.

Kobayashi said half of the Insight sales so far were to customers switching from other brands, including premium import brands and Toyota’s hybrid leader, the Prius. The Insight starts at 1.89 million yen ($19,980) in Japan.

“What’s unique about the Insight is that we’re attracting a broad range of drivers, from (660cc) minivehicles to sedans to minivans,” Kobayashi said.

While cautioning that the Japanese car market remained tough — total vehicle sales in January fell 20 percent from the year before — Kobayashi said Honda aimed to sell as many cars in the business year from April as the 570,000 to 580,000 units he expected it to sell in the 12 months to March 31.

Toyota is due to launch its third-generation Prius in May, pricing it slightly higher than the current version, which starts at 2.3 million yen in Japan. Local media have reported widely that Toyota would take the unusual step of selling the current model at a discount alongside the new version to compete with Honda’s Insight.

A Toyota spokeswoman said the company had made no such decision yet.

The Mazda MX-5 (known as the Mazda Roadster in Japan) was first revealed to the world at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1989. To help celebrate the 20th anniversary of this storied roadster, Mazda has announced that the freshened third generation MX-5 is making its North American debut at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, which is being held from February 11-22, 2009.

Through two full redesigns in 1998 and 2005, Mazda engineers focused on keeping the Mazda MX-5 lightweight and optimally balanced. The now-iconic MX-5 has evolved into a desirable and dynamic open-top sports car with enhanced safety and eco-friendly features. In 2006, the third generation MX-5 lineup was expanded with the addition of the Power Retractable Hard Top model, which features a groundbreaking electric roof system that does not sacrifice trunk space. The MX-5 has won more than 170 awards around the world to date, including the 2005-2006 Japan Car of the Year accolade, earning itself an international reputation without equal.

Guinness World Records certified the Mazda MX-5 as the world’s highest production two-seat open-top sports car in May 2000. With 857,201 MX-5 units produced through to December 2008, this record keeps growing.

The MX-5’s “Jinba Ittai” (”rider and horse as one”) concept has been the guiding principle for improvements since the original model. This enduring spirit will ensure that the Zoom-Zoom roadster continues to provide the fun-to-drive feeling of a car that moves in unison with the driver’s intentions to as many people as possible. As the Mazda MX-5 tradition evolves with the times, it will never cease creating countless smiles per mile.

Nissan Motor Co. plans to open a car plant in Russia in May, despite the global financial crisis. Nissan has begun testing vehicle assembly in Russia’s second city, St Petersburg.

Japan’s third-largest automaker is building a $200 million factory with an annual capacity of 50,000 cars in St Petersburg, sometimes referred to as the Russian Detroit because of its booming automotive industry.

“Now the test assembly of cars is going on, the factory opening (will be) at the end of May,” Maxim Sokolov, the head of St Petersburg’s committee on investment and strategic projects, told journalists.

Last November, when U.S. automotive giant General Motors launched its first wholly owned Russian factory in St Petersburg, the Nissan project had been expected to start operations this February.

Russia had been poised to become the largest car market in Europe this year, but the global financial crisis has taken its toll, with car sales now expected to fall by as much as 50 percent compared with 2008 levels.

Nissan, owned 44 percent by France’s Renault, said this week it would cut 20,000 jobs as it braces for its first annual loss in a decade.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that the all-new Insight hybrid vehicle will go on sale in Japan on February 6, 2009. A five-door, five-passenger compact hatchback starting at an affordable JPY 1,890,000, the Insight features a lightweight, compact hybrid system that combines exceptional fuel economy with fun-to-drive performance.

Designed to set the standard for compact cars for a new era, the Insight combines outstanding environmental performance with fun, responsive driving and efficient, versatile packaging. The all-new Honda Insight was developed with the goal to provide these attributes in a car that is affordable to more customers.

Offering customers exceptional fuel economy, the Insight features a newly developed hybrid system including a 1.3-liter i-VTEC engine and Honda’s proprietary Integrated Motor Assist (IMA). To further support fuel-efficient driving, the Insight features the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist) as standard equipment on all models.

Denso Corp., the world’s second-biggest auto supplier, reversed its full-year profit forecast to a loss after posting a 68.8 percent tumble in operating income for the first three quarters of its fiscal year.

The Japanese parts maker today predicted an operating loss of ¥62.0 billion ($681.1 million) for the fiscal year ending March 31. Denso had forecast an operating profit of $417.4 million.

The year before, Denso booked a $3.8 billion operating profit on what was then booming business at Toyota Motor Corp., its biggest customer and shareholder. But the global financial meltdown has wiped out those earnings. A soaring yen also hurt results.

In the first nine months of its current fiscal year, Denso’s operating profit fell to $935.4 million. Sales slid 11.6 percent to $28.9 billion.

Denso’s business suffered worldwide. No region saw increased sales or operating profit.

In the Americas, sales during the nine months suffered from falling production at Toyota and the Detroit 3, Denso said. Regional operating profit plunged 60.4 percent to $141.4 million in the quarter on a 24.1 percent drop in sales to $5.2 billion.

European operating profit fell 55.5 percent to $84.1 million. A 16.5 percent sales decrease there outweighed Denso’s efforts to cut costs.

In Japan, Denso’s biggest market, operating profit all but vanished, tumbling 98.2 percent to $31.5 million from a year earlier.

Sales there declined 10.2 percent as Japanese carmakers slashed output and reeled in exports to the United States and Europe.

On a net income basis, Denso also lowered its outlook.

The company now expects a net loss of $703.1 million instead of an earlier predicted net profit of $109.9 million. Both results mark a dramatic turnaround from the $2.7 billion in net income Denso booked last year.

Denso ranks No. 2 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers, with estimated worldwide sales to automakers of $35.70 billion in its 2007 fiscal year.