Honda Claims Plug-in Hybrid Will Have up to 15 miles of Electric Range

Prototype Honda PHEV (in Accord Body)

The new line of mid-sized plug-in hybrids that Honda Motor Co. aims to introduce next year will be able to travel up to 15 miles in electric-only mode, an executive says.

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

The new technology, which is scheduled to debut in 2012, is a two-motor system that runs on a lithium ion battery. The battery will be supplied through Blue Energy Co., Honda's battery joint venture with GS Yuasa Corp, said Hirohisa Ogawa, a chief engineer of battery research at Honda.

Ogawa, speaking at the International Rechargeable Battery Expo in Tokyo, said the new plug-ins would be able to run nine to 15 miles in electric-only mode.

Honda began testing the vehicles late last year, he added.

President Takanobu Ito has said his engineers are preparing to put the system in the Accord mid-sized sedan. Honda discontinued an earlier hybrid Accord, which was equipped with the Integrated Motor Assist system, in part because it was underpowered.

Some preliminary specs:

• This new hybrid system is designed for mid-size to larger vehicles and will be introduced in a future Honda model in 2012.
• The plug-in hybrid allows for short, frequent trips in all-electric mode.
• The Honda two-motor system continuously moves through three different modes to maximize driving efficiency: all-electric, gasoline-electric and a unique, engine direct-drive mode.
• In all-electric mode, the vehicle uses a 6kWh lithium-ion battery and a powerful 120 kW electric motor.
• The all-electric mode achieves a range of approximately 10-15 miles in city driving and a top speed of 62 mph.
• Fully recharging the battery will take 3 to 4 hours using a 120-volt outlet and 1 to 1.5 hours using a 240-volt outlet.

Source: Autoweek