Civic hybrid tests Honda's new strategy

Despite being the first to sell an electric-gasoline car in the United States and making hybrid technology a centerpiece of its fuel economy push, Honda Motor Co. has yet to have a hybrid hit.

But the redesigned Civic Hybrid, launched April 20, is the first test of whether Honda's new strategy of tapping lithium ion batteries and, later, two-motor systems can break the streak.

Past Honda hybrids have fallen short on fuel economy, as the Insight did against the Toyota Prius, or on power, as the short-lived Honda Accord hybrid fared against nonhybrid rivals.

Honda's new hybrid plan aims to fix both problems.

The first improvement is using lithium ion batteries, made by Blue Energy Co., a joint venture between Honda and GS Yuasa Corp. The goal is to save weight and space, while increasing fuel economy. But the new batteries are costly.

The new Civic's lithium battery weighs 48.5 pounds, compared with 69 pounds for its predecessor's nickel-metal hydride battery. That helps the new Civic Hybrid get 44 mpg in both city and highway driving , edging the previous generation's EPA rating of 40 city/43 highway.

The updated hybrid also gets a lighter, more powerful electric motor, with output increased to 17 kilowatts, from 15 kilowatts. It also offers more cabin space.

Its sticker starts at $24,800, including shipping, just $100 more than the earlier version's base price. But the Civic's sticker tops the Prius' base price of $22,880, including shipping.

So far sales have been sluggish. That is due in part to limited availability of the Japan-made hybrid because of earthquake-induced supply chain disruptions. Through May, Honda sold only 389 new Civic Hybrids in the United States, less than 1 percent of all Civics sold in that period. In 2010, hybrids accounted for 3 percent of the 260,218 Civics sold.

But slashing costs eventually will be key to driving sales higher.

"Toyota has already reduced the cost of its hybrid system over several years," says Toru Hatano, a powertrain analyst at IHS Global Insight in Tokyo. "But Honda is launching a whole new system, so we can expect their costs to be higher in the near term."

Honda also will install lithium ion batteries in a new two-motor hybrid system debuting next year in the United States for mid-sized plug-in hybrids.

Honda hasn't said what car gets it first. But engineers are testing the system in an Accord. A suitcase-sized lithium ion battery pack sits behind the back seat, eating trunk space.

An engineer involved with the project said testing is expected to continue through year end, and the company must decide if the 15-mile range in electric-only mode is sufficient. If user feedback suggests more range is needed, Honda will have to make the battery bigger or cut the car's weight, he said.

"We think a 15 mile range satisfies about 70 percent of the users," he said.

Already, Honda has tweaked the plug-in version of the Accord with an aluminum hood and other weight shavings. But the plug-in still weighs 330 pounds more than its gasoline counterpart.

Honda is rolling out the new hybrid system to counter criticism that its current technology is too weak to provide extended electric-only travel. The Integrated Motor Assist system used in the Insight, Civic and CR-Z hybrids uses the electric motor mostly to assist the gasoline engine.

The new system uses one traction motor to move the car and one generator motor to recharge the battery. The former, a 120-kilowatt motor, is combined with a 2.0-liter, four cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission.

The car has a top speed of 62 mph in electric-only mode, but a big question will be how far it can travel at that speed. The Accord plug-in hybrid can recharge in four hours from a 100-volt source or in 1.5 hours from a 200-volt source, the engineer said.

Honda President Takanobu Ito said last fall that the new hybrid system for larger vehicles will give electric-gasoline drivetrains a bigger slice of Honda's global sales -- pushing hybrids to around 10 percent of global sales by 2015, from less than 5 percent in 2009.

The electrified powertrains also will feature prominently in the Acura lineup, Ito said, reinforcing what he calls the "smart premium" image to which the brand aspires.
Source;
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110606/CARNEWS/110609917#ixzz1Ob4yjDH4

Edmunds Blog; Honda Awaiting New "Super" Lithium-Ion Battery for Next-Generation Hybrids

Honda's Integrated Motor Assist mild hybrid system (right) would get a boost from new high-power lithium-ion batteries the company could start using for 2010 models.

By Bill Visnic, Senior Editor

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Honda Motor Co. is preparing for an all-new, advanced lithium-ion battery that will allow its engineers to extend Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid-electric technology to larger vehicles, a senior company executive told Green Car Advisor during an annual auto-industry conference frequented by heavy-hitters from carmakers' management ranks.

Honda has in the past been non-committal about lithium-ion, but that posture apparently is changing. And Honda recently was linked in lithium-ion talk with Japanese electronics giant and battery developer Sanyo Electric Co.

John German, American Honda's manager of environmental and energy analysis, said the coming lithium-ion battery formula -- the developer of which he wouldn't name -- does not enjoy extra capacity compared with known lithium-ion characteristics. Instead, the new chemistry is targeted at allowing the batteries to charge much more quickly.

This, in turn, will allow for an increased amount of battery capacity that can be assigned to actually powering the motor. And more power means the IMA system can be employed for larger, heavier vehicles.

In addition, German says the new batteries will be markedly cheaper.

Apart from potential for vehicles such as the Ridgeline midsized pickup or the Odyssey minivan, the extra IMA performance could mean a return of the Accord Hybrid - this time using a 4-cylinder engine instead of the first-generation Accord Hybrid's V6.

German says the new butt-kicker lithium-ion chemistry should be ready in about the same timeframe as GM's lithium-ion-dependent Chevrolet Volt "extended-range" electric vehicle, the car that put lithium-ion development on the hot seat.

And while Honda brags about the slenderness of IMA's engine-enhancing electric motor - which is wedged between the engine and transmission - German says underhood space has become so valuable that even the currently required 1.5 inches or so is tough to engineer.

But Honda's advanced lithium-ion battery's potential for the midsize Accord must be tempting, as the company is no doubt anxious to get back in the game against Toyota's Camry Hybrid, of which Toyota reputedly has just a five-day inventory.

Honda's first Accord Hybrid was designed for performance enhancement, coupling the IMA system with the company's thrusty 3-liter V6.

Accord's loyal buyers didn't respond, however, and Honda dropped the Accord Hybrid after the '07 model year and before the next-generation model was introduced for '08.

While Toyota's hybrids keep selling well, German told Green Car Advisor, that he thinks Toyota invested in the wrong technology by opting for the "full" hybrid design instead of Honda's IMA mild hybrid system.

"We get 80 percent of the (full-hybrid) benefit at 60 percent of the cost," German insists.

Source;
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2008/08/honda-awaiting-new-super-lithium-ion-battery-for-next-generation-hybrids.html

New Honda Hybrid Over Honda Diesel?

There have been rumblings about the new proposed Diesel for Honda being scrapped in favour of a new Accord Hybrid. This looks to be rumoured because of the run away success of the Toyota Camry Hybrid. There are NO official reports or sources on this, it is just something that I have heard when discussing how well the Toyota Camry Hybrid has been doing.

This time Honda would do well to;

-Make it a 4 cylinder Hybrid

-Put the battery into the floor and allow the rear seats to fold down.

-Have 1X (de-contented, ie: no moonroof, no power seat, no alloys, JUST the basic power group and A/C, Tilt, Cruise) cloth trim level and 1X (loaded up) leather trim level to start.

-Keep the style in line with the current Accord.

Anyway, food for thought.