At North American International Auto Show, Honda Motor Co. presented a new concept of their classic Civic. In accordance to the company’s statements, the hybrid will be equipped with Li-ion rechargeable battery.
They planned the release of the car in the US for the spring of 2011, but Honda has never used a Li-ion rechargeable battery for the large-scale production before. Blue Energy Co. Ltd is the company that will produce the famous battery.
The hybrid system consists both of an electric motor for driving and regeneration and an engine, which are connected to each other in a direct way. It resembles the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist), used for the Fit and the Insight.
The hybrid system of the new Civic is equipped with a Li-ion rechargeable battery, unlike the IMA which has a nickel-metal-hybrid (NiMH). Honda believes that this change drastically improves fuel efficiency. Charging and discharging a Li-ion battery takes less than doing the same operation with a NiMH battery.
Therefore, the company has chosen a regenerative brake that will make the collection of electricity much more efficient and easier. It appears that the capacity of the battery for the new hybrid will be higher than the 580Wh used now.
The output of the motor will be higher than Fit’s and Insigh’s, more precisely it will be higher than 10 KW. Honda ordered large quantities of high-tensile steel, so as to make the new Civic lighter than the one that can be found on the market. The new Civic model will be launched only in the US. The company didn’t mention anything about a possible release in Japan, as expected.
