(EUROPEAN SPECS)
HONDA URBAN ELECTRIFIED CONCEPT (EUROPEAN SPECS)
Honda is
charging into the Frankfurt Motor Show next week, bringing with it two electrified concept
models — though at least one seems certain to go into production.
The Japanese
automaker was one of the first to bring hybrids to market but has been slow to
embrace more advanced battery-based technology. But that’s about to change, CEO
Takahiro Hachigo pronouncing that his goal is to generate fully two-thirds of
Honda’s sales from battery and hydrogen-powered models by 2030.
Both of the
models coming to the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show are being marketed at the European market. What we will
see at the show will likely be slightly modified for North America.
The Honda CR-V
Hybrid is unveiled as a “hybrid prototype.” Soon we expect to see in North
America a version Civic, Accord and Odyssey, among others.
The
two-motor i-MMD (Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive) system in the Honda CR-V Hybrid
Prototype comprises an electric propulsion motor, a 2.0-litre i-VTEC
four-cylinder Atkinson cycle gasoline engine for electrical energy generation
and propulsion, and a separate electric generator motor.
Honda also
plans debut its Urban Electric Concept. Honda's concepts tend to not remain
concepts for long.
What’s unclear
is whether the CR-V Hybrid prototype coming to Frankfurt will be the same
concept model first seen at the Shanghai Motor Show earlier in the year, or if
it will be updated to some degree. The Chinese prototype featured the same
basic driveline as the Accord Sport Hybrid: twin electric motors drawing power
from a small lithium-ion battery pack and paired with a 2.0-liter
Atkinson-cycle inline-four gas engine.
Honda
will unveil the Honda CR-V Hybrid Prototype at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show,
previewing the brand's first-ever electrified SUV powertrain available in
Europe. The Hybrid Prototype also features revised styling that previews the
forthcoming European specification CR-V model range. The Honda CR-V Hybrid
Prototype represents the first time that the all-new CR-V has been shown at a
European motor show. It retains the familiar silhouette of the world's
best-selling SUV, with an evolutionary design that is sophisticated and sporty.
Wider, taller and longer than the previous version, the Hybrid Prototype of the
new CR-V has fresh exterior styling, with a wider stance through the broader,
muscular wheel arches.
The
hybrid CR-V system does not need a conventional transmission. The new SUV is
fitted in 2018 with a single fixed-gear ratio that creates a direct connection
between moving components, enabling a smooth transfer of torque within the
system.
The
i-MMD system determines how to use fuel and electrical energy in the most
efficient way, meaning there is no requirement on the driver to adjust between
the three driving modes; EV Drive, Hybrid Drive and Engine Drive.
In
EV Drive, the propulsion motor draws its power solely from the batteries,
delivering zero-emissions driving. In Hybrid Drive, the gasoline engine
supplies power to the electric generator motor, which
in turn delivers power to the electric propulsion motor. In this mode, excess
power from the gasoline engine is diverted back via the generator motor to
recharge the battery pack.
In
Engine Drive, the wheels are directly driven by the gasoline engine, with an
'on-demand' peak power 'boost' available from the electric propulsion motor. In
most urban driving situations, the vehicle will move between Hybrid Drive and
EV Drive for optimum efficiency. Engine Drive is engaged as needed for perhaps immediate acceleration.
"URBAN ELECTRIFIED" EUROPEAN SPECS
Honda used the “Urban” designation for a
concept it revealed in Frankfurt
two years ago. time relying on the sort of battery-electric driveline that many
European cities are expected to require in the not-too-distant future? France,
the U.K. and Norway all have laid out plans to ban the sale of internal
combustion-powered vehicles over the next decade or so, and even Germany, home
of the Autobahn is considering that strategy. Individual cities could go a step
further and ban even existing IC-powered models from entering urban cores.
"URBAN ELECTRIFIED CONCEPT"
EUROPEAN SPECS
Honda is not
talking about the details about the Urban EV concept that CEO Hachigo will
unveil during the maker’s news conference in Frankfurt on Sept. 12.
The money is
betting that the Honda Urban EV Concept will use a lithium-ion battery pack but
that leaves a lot of questions open. What sort of range would it be targeting,
for example? While there’s an industry-wide push for electric vehicles getting
200 miles or more per charge, some advocates believe there will still be an
urban market for vehicles in the 100-mile range. Indeed, that’s about what is
being targeted by the Smart Vision EQ Fortwo concept Daimler is debuting in
Frankfurt.
In the U.S.,
Honda recently launched three versions of its Clarity, including a hydrogen
fuel-cell model, a plug-in hybrid and a pure battery-electric. Those products
are part of “a long-term vision to make sustainable, electrified vehicles true
volume vehicles for Honda,” Jim Burrell, head of environmental business
development for American Honda stated.
The approach
taken with Clarity and the fact that Honda has both a prototype SUV Hybrid and
an all electric concept vehicle
being shown at Frankfurt Motor show means to us that they are searching
for best hybrids, fuel cells, or hydrogen and electric vehicles demanded by their
customers.
BRUCE
HUBBARD
BRADLEY
HUBBARD
BONNIE
LYNCH
AUTO
ADVISOR GROUP
MOTORING
TIMES
BEST
DRIVES.
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