New Honda hybrid to use NiMH batteries
Honda President Takeo Fukui thinks that lithium ion batteries in hybrid or electric vehicles are akin to soukon, which is Japanese for people who decide to get married too early.
Current hybrid vehicles use nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, but next generation hybrids by most car manufacturers are set to use lithium ion batteries, which are smaller, lighter and can store more electricity. The downside is that they tend to overheat and may be unsafe. Toyota’s first lithium-ion hybrid will arrive in 2010.
Honda’s new yet to be revealed dedicated hybrid vehicle - a spiritual successor to the Insight that is only available with a hybrid powertrain - will use NiMH batteries instead of lithium ion batteries. The only thing we know about the new car is that it will take some styling cues from the wedge-shaped Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car.
It will be priced below the current Civic Hybrid, and the hybrid powertrain will be a lighter and more compact redesign of the current IMA system. Honda aims for hybrids to make up for 10% of its global car sales by 2012.
Look after the jump for a recent Honda concept with a rather wedge-like shape.
Related Posts:
Honda FCX Clarity Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car
Honda FCX Concept Driving Experience
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April 4, 2008 @ 5:59 am
Which body style of hybrid is this? 2 door, 4 door sedan, or 5 door hatchback? From the article, it looks like 2 door coupe/hatchback you are mentioning, or do you mean future hybrids (in general)?
Most people seem to think the CRZ hybrid is more of an successor to the CRX more than the Insight hybrid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CR-Z
April 4, 2008 @ 8:06 am
“people who decide to get married too early” - GATAL
April 4, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
nah,some ppl had to get married because of “accident” during “ahem”
April 4, 2008 @ 2:32 pm
NiMH how many volt?? 1.2 v each kaa?? hehe
April 4, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
anything from 96 to 192 volts… if using DC motor…
but, i think must be an AC motor, probably is a three-phase AC motor running at 240 volts AC with a 300 volt battery pack…
April 4, 2008 @ 7:35 pm
isnt that the successor of the CRX they were talking about?
April 5, 2008 @ 1:17 am
Big words from somebody who said OK to his team to develop H2 fuel cells. Why waste electricity to get H2 when you need that H2 just on ANOTHER internal combustion engine? Not to mention the expensive cost of building the infrastructure of H2 pumps? And its not only Honda, its every manufacturer giving reasons not to develop electric vehicles untill they can put complexity in their machines. The complexity will save their butt regardless if we need it or not. This complexity makes sure China ot India can’t overtake them.
Like the Tesla guy who said that the most complex issue is trying to get 12V for accessories such as radios, air con, lights, when they’ve got 144V from their packs. Yeah I understand its difficult but that won’t justify the price tag. I would always think twice when such value-added-speak comes out of an American.
If they had stopped and concentrate fundings on other developments and focus on batteries, it would be a viable alternative now.
April 5, 2008 @ 5:34 am
He is from Japan, and Namie Amuro is the spokesperson to ask people to tie the knot early. Its actually a good thing.
April 5, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
make sure the battery is not from sony. otherwise the car will be a bit combustible!
April 5, 2008 @ 3:51 pm
errrr……. NiMH? is it same with those found in Nikko Tamiya etc remote control toy car?
April 7, 2008 @ 2:59 am
looks like gen2..sekali imbas..hahaha
April 7, 2008 @ 7:42 am
If i’m not mistaken NiMH are obsolete tech, now every Notebook using Li-Ion instead…