Last Tuesday, Honda Motor Co. said that they had received about 700 orders in Japan for the new Civic hybrid sedan over a one-month period before the model goes on sale on November 22nd. Furthermore, The Japan’s third-biggest auto maker continued, that compares with an average monthly sales target of 500 units for the life of the model, and actual domestic sales of 36 units a month for the previous Civic hybrid during 2004.

The gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, like the new Civic, are hardly profitable so far, and tend to weigh on overall fleet margins. Not just for Honda, but also applied to their other competitors, like Toyota. But according to a spokeswoman, more than half of the orders for the gasoline-only Civic were for the higher-end 1.8GL version, boding well for profitability.

The Civic itself is Honda’s best-selling car after the Accord, and the auto maker is counting on the improved gasoline and hybrid systems to reignite flagging sales of the model.

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