Honda Motor President and CEO, Takanobu Ito reveals New Civic at Frankfurt Motor Show

-New Civic makes public debut
-Designed for, tested and uniquely produced in Europe
-Newly developed smaller diesel added to Civic range in 2012
-New generation of low emission engines for Europe
-30% CO2 reduction target for all product areas by 2020

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to join you today at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
50 years ago, Honda's first European company was established in Germany in 1961. Since then, our mission has always been to satisfy European customers with unique and innovative products.
Our journey still continues today. We are making progress with a range of clean and sustainable, yet fun-to-drive mobility technologies. We continue to develop our Hybrid, Battery Electric, Plug-in, and Fuel Cell products alongside energy generation technologies such as Solar Cell and Cogeneration.
Since 1972 when we became the World's 1st auto maker to meet strict US emissions regulations with CVCC technology, Honda has been committed to reducing our environmental footprint.
Our New Environmental Mark symbolizes our passion to provide sustainable mobility for future generations and to deliver ‘blue skies for our children'.
To measure and demonstrate this commitment, we announced in June that we aim to deliver a 30% CO2 reduction on all product areas by 2020.
The New Civic is the first step towards achieving this new target. The 1.8 litre petrol engine delivers a 10% CO2 reduction. The 2.2 litre diesel engine reduces CO2 emissions by nearly 20%, whilst further enhancing performance.
By the end of 2012, we will add a newly developed smaller diesel engine to the Civic range. Designed specifically for the European market, the new engine will further reduce CO2 emissions. Starting with this new smaller diesel, Honda will introduce a new generation of low emission engines, renewing all of our automobile engines in Europe.
From the First Civic to this 9th generation Civic, we have always challenged ourselves to give Civic a new value. The New Civic offers a striking sporty design and class-leading utility created by Honda's unique centre-tank layout, whilst now offering even more improved fuel economy, handling and comfort.
The New Civic is designed for European customers. We tested this car on European roads more than any other Honda car in our history. It is dynamic and stable. It is fun and comfortable with no compromise made to achieve these improvements.
New Civic is not just an evolution, it is a revolutionary evolution. We have jumped 2 generations ahead of our current model.
The new Civic will be uniquely produced in Europe, and sales will start in early 2012.
Ladies and Gentlemen, THIS IS... THE NEW CIVIC, and with this New Civic, Honda's strong regeneration in Europe begins.
Thank you for your attention.

Source;
http://www.hondanews.eu/en/news/index.pmode/modul,detail,0,1977-DEFAULT,21,text,1/index.pmode

Civic hybrid tests Honda's new strategy

Despite being the first to sell an electric-gasoline car in the United States and making hybrid technology a centerpiece of its fuel economy push, Honda Motor Co. has yet to have a hybrid hit.

But the redesigned Civic Hybrid, launched April 20, is the first test of whether Honda's new strategy of tapping lithium ion batteries and, later, two-motor systems can break the streak.

Past Honda hybrids have fallen short on fuel economy, as the Insight did against the Toyota Prius, or on power, as the short-lived Honda Accord hybrid fared against nonhybrid rivals.

Honda's new hybrid plan aims to fix both problems.

The first improvement is using lithium ion batteries, made by Blue Energy Co., a joint venture between Honda and GS Yuasa Corp. The goal is to save weight and space, while increasing fuel economy. But the new batteries are costly.

The new Civic's lithium battery weighs 48.5 pounds, compared with 69 pounds for its predecessor's nickel-metal hydride battery. That helps the new Civic Hybrid get 44 mpg in both city and highway driving , edging the previous generation's EPA rating of 40 city/43 highway.

The updated hybrid also gets a lighter, more powerful electric motor, with output increased to 17 kilowatts, from 15 kilowatts. It also offers more cabin space.

Its sticker starts at $24,800, including shipping, just $100 more than the earlier version's base price. But the Civic's sticker tops the Prius' base price of $22,880, including shipping.

So far sales have been sluggish. That is due in part to limited availability of the Japan-made hybrid because of earthquake-induced supply chain disruptions. Through May, Honda sold only 389 new Civic Hybrids in the United States, less than 1 percent of all Civics sold in that period. In 2010, hybrids accounted for 3 percent of the 260,218 Civics sold.

But slashing costs eventually will be key to driving sales higher.

"Toyota has already reduced the cost of its hybrid system over several years," says Toru Hatano, a powertrain analyst at IHS Global Insight in Tokyo. "But Honda is launching a whole new system, so we can expect their costs to be higher in the near term."

Honda also will install lithium ion batteries in a new two-motor hybrid system debuting next year in the United States for mid-sized plug-in hybrids.

Honda hasn't said what car gets it first. But engineers are testing the system in an Accord. A suitcase-sized lithium ion battery pack sits behind the back seat, eating trunk space.

An engineer involved with the project said testing is expected to continue through year end, and the company must decide if the 15-mile range in electric-only mode is sufficient. If user feedback suggests more range is needed, Honda will have to make the battery bigger or cut the car's weight, he said.

"We think a 15 mile range satisfies about 70 percent of the users," he said.

Already, Honda has tweaked the plug-in version of the Accord with an aluminum hood and other weight shavings. But the plug-in still weighs 330 pounds more than its gasoline counterpart.

Honda is rolling out the new hybrid system to counter criticism that its current technology is too weak to provide extended electric-only travel. The Integrated Motor Assist system used in the Insight, Civic and CR-Z hybrids uses the electric motor mostly to assist the gasoline engine.

The new system uses one traction motor to move the car and one generator motor to recharge the battery. The former, a 120-kilowatt motor, is combined with a 2.0-liter, four cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission.

The car has a top speed of 62 mph in electric-only mode, but a big question will be how far it can travel at that speed. The Accord plug-in hybrid can recharge in four hours from a 100-volt source or in 1.5 hours from a 200-volt source, the engineer said.

Honda President Takanobu Ito said last fall that the new hybrid system for larger vehicles will give electric-gasoline drivetrains a bigger slice of Honda's global sales -- pushing hybrids to around 10 percent of global sales by 2015, from less than 5 percent in 2009.

The electrified powertrains also will feature prominently in the Acura lineup, Ito said, reinforcing what he calls the "smart premium" image to which the brand aspires.
Source;
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110606/CARNEWS/110609917#ixzz1Ob4yjDH4

Honda president's earthquake report

Boss gets on his bike to see the damage first-hand

Honda's CEO and president, Takanobu Ito, has revealed that he used his bike to reach the firm's damaged facilities in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

In his personal report on the situation, Ito said:

“In the Tochigi prefecture, there are many Honda facilities including the Automobile R&D Center, an office for the purchasing division, a parts plant and Honda Engineering Co., Ltd., which develops production technologies. Shortly after the earthquake, I rode my motorcycle to visit each of these facilities to check the level of damage. With fallen ceilings and walls and other damage, none of these facilities were in a condition to resume operations immediately. I realized it would not be an easy effort to recover these facilities.

“The purchasing division, whose head office in Tochigi was damaged, set up an emergency satellite office within Saitama Factory and began checking situation all of our suppliers including second and third tier suppliers and investigating the impact of the earthquake on the parts supply. Associates at the purchasing division are pursuing the necessary measures for every single part that was impacted toward the recovery of overall parts supply.

“The Automobile R&D Center set up satellite offices within the plants and other offices as it will take some time to restore its building and facility. After establishing a telecommunications network infrastructure at each office, the team resumed development operations on March 28. The development of mass-production models requires a lot of coordinated work with production plants; therefore, in hindsight, I am expecting that the team will be able to work more efficiently by being close to the production site.

“In the three weeks since the earthquake, we have worked to achieve the ability to resume our operations and we will resume production of finished units of automobiles at the Saitama and Suzuka factories on April 11. This means all Honda production plants in Japan will be in operation as of that date. However, as the parts supply situation remains fluid, production of component parts and vehicles in Japan will be at approximately 50% of the original production plan for the time being, and we have reduced production volume at some plants outside of Japan.

“We will strive to get back to normal operation as soon as possible by stabilizing the parts supply while also considering other options including changing the model mix at some production plants. We will also bring the pace of automobile development back to where it was before the earthquake by using R&D facilities in Tochigi as they are ready to resume operations, as well as the temporary satellite offices.

“The other day, I visited affected suppliers and dealers in Tohoku and saw them working hard day and night to resume their operations under conditions beyond my imagination. We will devote ourselves to support our suppliers and dealers to resume their stable parts production and services to our customers as soon as possible.

“We, the Honda Group, will go all out to overcome this difficult time and recover our business as soon as possible, which will also be a contribution to the recovery of the Japanese economy as well.”

Source;

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news-industry/honda-presidents-earthquake-report/17777.html