ZTH Meets The Father of The Civic Hybrid - Mr Yoshio Yamamoto

As promised, here’s the interview session with the chief engineer behind the world saving Civic Hybrid, Mr Yoshio Yamamoto. Mr Yamamoto recently flew down from the Japan for the media session. Well, leaving his office at the Honda Automobile R&D Center in Japan for a media session seems surreal, so we’re pretty sure Mr Yamamoto had other more important things to attend to and we from zerotohundred would like to thank him for his time and patience.

1. Fuel shortage in the world is a concern. In the initial process of development of the Hybrid, what are the problems encountered during the process?

The first project of the hybrid development started in the mid 1990s, before that Honda concentrated on building the EV, the electric vehicle. So, for the basic model of the hybrid, we studied the EV system.

Hybrid requires very good combination of internal combustion engine and (battery) equalizer because energy management is one of the key to the performance of the vehicle. The battery is very important to the hybrid vehicle and the challenge is the size of the battery.

One of the hurdles in the development stages was the energy management in the hybrid – to efficiently use the electricity to assist the combustion engine. It is very complicated as we had to figure out when to use electricity and when to use fuel combustion. So energy management was the main concern.

2. Why CVT instead of standard/conventional transmission system?

Actually the first hybrid model, we used manual transmission. Manual transmission has a very high exchange, and that is why it needs more energy.

To achieve higher efficiency, we used Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT), for engine driving condition to achieve a higher (efficiency) point.

The CVT is able to provide better fuel economy by enabling the engine to run at its most efficient revolutions per minute (RPM) for a range of vehicle speeds. That is why the CVT is a better combination for the hybrid.

3. General Motor is going to launch VOLT, their plug-in electric hybrid. What is Honda’s direction 5 years from now in terms of hybrid? Will it be hydrogen, Fuel cell, Diesel-Hybrid? What do you think, personally?

Our ultimate goal is no CO2 and NOx emissions and higher efficiency. Maybe that means fuel cell vehicle.

Actually, early on we have the EV. But still, the big issue is more electricity. So the hybrid is one vehicle that is a good solution for now with its higher power density, higher energy and low emission.

Honda is working very hard to achieve fuel cell vehicle powered by hydrogen. Many people ask which is better – fuel cell vehicle or electric vehicle or others. Maybe no one knows but hydrogen fuel cell technology is very difficult. High power, high energy, electricity equalizer also difficult. Many people say fuel cell vehicle is more difficult but it (the development) will take long time.

But for now, the hybrid is still the practical solution.

Why petrol engine and not diesel engine? Isn’t diesel engine is more efficient (like in Europe)?

But the CO2 emission for diesel engine is high and the engine has to work hard. In solving environmental problem, there are many approaches like petrol hybrid, diesel hybrid, EV and fuel cell. They are competing. As for which one, it depends on the development.

4. What do you feel about battery power? Batter has not changed much. Do you think battery technology is primitive? Is there a lot of room to grow?

Recently, battery improvement is very steep. There is a lot of opinion on battery technology and its direction but there has been a steep improvement on it during the past few years.

It is a promising technology.

5. When should I replace battery of the Civic Hybrid and how much will it cost?

We are currently developing a no-change battery. The battery should not be changed.

The battery in the current Hybrid can last for 10 years. We are hoping to use a no-change battery in future.

The battery is a parallel or series battery?

It is parallel.

6. Toyota, in the U.S. is using Hybrid to sell cars; that is why they have so many models. Is Honda coming out with Hybrid models for other models?

Our President, Mr Takeo Fukui has already announced that by 2010, Honda will release very reasonably priced, people-oriented hybrid vehicle all over the world.

We expect to sell 200,000 units for this model, as well as other hybrid models.

7. What is the difference between Prius and Honda’s Hybrid? And is there a particular reason why you use the electric motor?

There are many differences but the main one is that the Toyota hybrid is a two motor model while the Honda hybrid is a one motor model.

The Honda hybrid uses IMA system which is simple, has one motor and strict energy management.

8. Is there any solution for the Hybrid’s performance on the highway that is slightly lower compared to 1.8L?

The hybrid engine is better than 1.8 Honda Civic; the performance is just below 1.8L system combustion engine but the advantage (of the Hybrid) is better fuel economy.

9. Are you exploring other (start and stop) system for your other model? For example, a manual start and stop system for the car ie. When the driver step on the clutch, the engine will shut; instead of waiting for the car to start and stop on its own.

Civic Hybrid has an automatic system, there is no need to manually start and stop the engine.

We are studying the best technology for saving energy (in normal model). Unfortunately, current Honda models do not have that system except for the hybrid.

10. Why stop only at 1 set of battery on IMA, why not 2 or more? If you put more batteries, the engine can save on fuel and run on batteries. Why stop at one 1 (battery)?

The current generation of batteries is heavy and expensive. Civic Hybrid uses one small battery. The use of one battery is enough to produce the required performance while still addressing the environmental issue.

It is also a balance between power and fuel economy.

You said you are developing a no-need-to-change battery. What kind of battery is it?

It is a Lithium-Metal hydride battery; it is developed with practical application in mind.

11. What is the rationale for choosing Civic to be a Hybrid? Why not others products?

Currently the main products for Honda are Accord, City, CR-V and Fit. But for Honda, the key projects for new technology are Civic and Accord.

The Civic has Honda’s DNA for new technology.

For other models, we have to study the application of Hybrid.

12. For other manufacturer – Civic: Fuel consumption and economy, and lower emissions. There are talks on Hybrid for performance. Is there any plan for Honda to produce a performance Hybrid? For example in 2009, it was announced that Honda will have the Hybrid for CRZ, a performance coupe. Is that the direction for Honda?

The CRZ is a performance hybrid that Honda is now manufacturing.

13. BMW has incorporated regenerative braking into normal models. Does Honda have any plans to incorporate this into your normal models?

There are discussions about it. Our President, Mr Fukui has said that the hybrid feature should be applied to other Honda models in the future.

14. What are the chances of Hybrid in the Type R?

Some of you might know that the EU has set a long-term target for emission. Honda has set a target that by 2010, the average CO2 emission from a Honda should be 120 g/km. By 2020, the emission should be 95 g/km.

The Type R’s emission is more than 200 g/km but the Type R is about power. It is a difficult model to feature hybrid.

Our responsibility (for Type R) is to get much power and at the same time, higher efficiency.

15. The biggest problem with the Hybrid in Malaysia (and Southeast) is the price. Are there any plans to manufacture regionally or locally?

We manufacture the Hybrid and export it, even for the US and the Europe. To manufacture a model locally or regionally, the sales figure must be of a certain level otherwise it is very difficult to justify the local production facility cost due to the high technology.

16. Why is Honda into Hybrid?

The environment is very important for the world. It is our responsibility to care for it and it is also a company policy.

Hybrid is one of our initiatives to care for the environment.