Japanese automaker Honda took the wraps off two green prototypes today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The first is the Fit EV Concept, an electric, rear-wheel-drive subcompact car that will go on sale in 2012. The second is a conceptual model of a plug-in hybrid power train, also set to hit dealerships in 2012.
A zero emission Fit
The Fit EV will be the first Honda model equipped with a lithium-ion battery. Its electric motor is derived from the one motivating the Honda FCX Clarity, a mid-size, hydrogen-powered sedan.
Like the CR-Z, the Fit EV will feature three operating modes: Econ, Normal and Sport. Its maximum range is estimated at 160 km, and its battery can be recharged in under 12 hours from a 120-volt outlet. A 240-volt outlet would cut charging time in half.
“With the Fit EV, we’ve come full circle,” said president and CEO of Honda, Takanobu Ito, who presented the car to the journalists attending the press conference. He was refering to the introduction of the Honda EV Plus at the end of the 90s. Three hundred units of the little rear-wheel-drive electric car were produced and rented out to California motorists for testing. At the time, Mr Ito was working for the American branch of Honda.
A plug-in hybrid
As for the future of Honda’s plug-in hybrid, its lithium-ion battery allows an operating range of 15 to 30 km in electric mode and top speeds of nearly 100 km/h. Charging time is 2 to 2.5 hours with a domestic 120-volt outlet. No details yet on the nature of the car it will power.
The first is the Fit EV Concept, an electric, rear-wheel-drive subcompact car that will go on sale in 2012. The second is a conceptual model of a plug-in hybrid power train, also set to hit dealerships in 2012.
 |
| John Mendal (left), executive vice-president of Honda US, and Takanobu Ito, president and CEO of Honda Motor, pose next to the prototype of the Honda Fit EV, set to go on sale in 2012. (Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com) |
A zero emission Fit
The Fit EV will be the first Honda model equipped with a lithium-ion battery. Its electric motor is derived from the one motivating the Honda FCX Clarity, a mid-size, hydrogen-powered sedan.
Like the CR-Z, the Fit EV will feature three operating modes: Econ, Normal and Sport. Its maximum range is estimated at 160 km, and its battery can be recharged in under 12 hours from a 120-volt outlet. A 240-volt outlet would cut charging time in half.
“With the Fit EV, we’ve come full circle,” said president and CEO of Honda, Takanobu Ito, who presented the car to the journalists attending the press conference. He was refering to the introduction of the Honda EV Plus at the end of the 90s. Three hundred units of the little rear-wheel-drive electric car were produced and rented out to California motorists for testing. At the time, Mr Ito was working for the American branch of Honda.
A plug-in hybrid
As for the future of Honda’s plug-in hybrid, its lithium-ion battery allows an operating range of 15 to 30 km in electric mode and top speeds of nearly 100 km/h. Charging time is 2 to 2.5 hours with a domestic 120-volt outlet. No details yet on the nature of the car it will power.
 |
| The conceptual prototype of the plug-in hybrid powertrain that will equip a Honda product planned for 2012. (Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com) |