UPDATE 1-Honda's new hybrid to cost 1.5 mln yen - Nikkei

June 24 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co's (7267.T) new hybrid car will cost around 1.5 million yen ($16,570), making it the cheapest hybrid in Japan when it goes on sale this fall, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The new car will cost about 400,000 yen less than Insight, Honda's other hybrid offering, and about 200,000 yen more than the gasoline-powered Fit compact car, the paper said.

The new car could travel 30 kilometers on a liter of gas, compared with Fit's 24 km/l.

The new hybrid will be based on Fit and it shares core components with Insight, reducing Honda's development costs, the Nikkei reported.

Competition between Honda and rival Toyota Corp (7203.T) have helped popularize hybrid cars in Japan, and competition between the two is set to intensify as Toyota prepares to launch a new hybrid next year, the paper said. ($1=90.51 Yen) (Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)