Why Honda's Unloading Electric Cars for Cheap

When Honda Motor introduced its all-electric Fit EV in July 2012, it set a modest goal of delivering 1,100 of the lease-only cars in two years. Yet through May, the company had found just 176 takers for the plug-in. Consumers didn’t leap to pay $389 a month for a subcompact that can go only about 82 miles before it needs recharging, especially when the gas-powered version gets 30 miles a gallon and costs half as much. General Motors, maker of the plug-in Chevy Volt hybrid, and Nissan Motor, which makes the all-electric Leaf, have also seen sales fall short of their goals.

This is a problem for automakers under increasing pressure to push zero-emission vehicles on skeptical consumers. Nine states, including New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, have followed California’s lead in requiring that electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen-powered models make up 15 percent of new-car sales and leases by 2025. They’ve got a long way to go: About one-third of 1 percent of the 6.4 million new vehicles sold in the first five months of 2013 were zero-emission, says the National Automobile Dealers Association.