Honda EV Plus

Development

Honda began development of an electric vehicle (EV) in April 1988, inspired in part by the General Motors Sunraycer, which won the World Solar Challenge in 1987, and with an intent to meet increasingly stringent future emissions standards. The first electric vehicle team at Honda had just four people. At the time, Honda was the last automotive company in Japan to start work on electric vehicles.

Early obstacles were discovered; electric traction motors that were powerful or efficient were too large to fit, energy storage density using existing lead–acid technology was similarly too low, and the time required to recharge was inconvenient. Besides the technical challenges, California issued a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate in late 1990, requiring manufacturers to sell 2% of their total sales as ZEVs, starting in 1998. With that in mind, Honda devoted approximately 100 employees to begin full-scale EV development early in 1991.

A first prototype was designed, based on the existing three-door hatchback Civic, retrofitted with commercially available electric motor and lead–acid batteries, and modified with numerous weight-saving measures, including aluminum body panels and acrylic plastic windows; it was completed in July 1991 and ran without issues. Although EV project team members were relieved that it was operable, project leader Junichi Araki was furious: "You call this a car? What the heck did you just make? Why don't you just dig a hole, and bury it!" Over the next two hours, Araki explained his anger: the finished product was a shameful compromise and merely an excuse for Honda's inexperience with EVs. "As long as we continue trying a variety of measures in a project, each car we produce must constitute a learning experience that leads to the next step. If a car doesn't lead to greater experience, we might as well not build it. I was so disappointed that they hadn't put more passion into the project." The team refocused their goal "to make a good electric vehicle, with no compromises."

As an example, the Honda EV project's powerplant team began working with battery manufacturers, proposing a battery format and size that were later adopted as a global standard. gathering test data starting in August 1994. Over the next two years, the fleet of ten CUV-4s would be driven for an aggregate 80000 mi in partnership with California utilities Pacific Gas & Electric (operating five) and Southern California Edison (three).

These tests convinced Honda that lead–acid batteries were unsuitable as the main storage for a production-level electric vehicle. The CUV-4 had a limited range of just 40 to, prompting tweaks to the basic vehicle specifications that were later realized in the EV Plus, including battery voltage, chemistry, and motor power.

Features

The EV Plus featured on-board conductive charging with the Avcon connector, passive battery balancing, regenerative braking and deceleration, AC/heat pump climate control, HID headlights, 4 seats, and electrically heated windshield. The car was equipped with an oil-fired heater for faster cabin heating and passenger comfort, but the heater was not operable until the ambient temperature was below 40 F to comply with California ZEV standards. The heater had an output of 7 kW.

The EV Plus came with a 12 V battery to power standard automotive accessories and lighting.

Vehicles also featured:

• CD player
• Power windows
• Power door locks
• Remote key fob controlled Air conditioning
• Electrically heated windshield

Performance

• Track Front/Rear: 59.1in/58.7in (150cm/149cm)
• Drive Train: Front-wheel drive
• Occupants: Four
• Transmission: Single speed with reverse
• Charger: On-board conductive
• Recharge: 8 hours with 240V charger, 35 hours with 120V emergency charger.
• Acceleration: 4.9s (030mph)
• Maximum Speed: 80+mph (130km/h)
• Colors: dark green, bronze, silver

The traction motor output rating was 49 kW at 8,750 RPM

Battery capacity was 28.7kWh; the battery weighed 486.1 kg and occupied a volume of 292 L. Using a 120V "emergency" charger, approximately 24 hours were required for a complete charge; in contrast, the 240V charger was able to restore 80% of charge in 2 hours.

At introduction, Honda cautioned potential drivers that actual driving range was limited to 60 to.

A race-prepared EV Plus set a new record for electric vehicles at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1999 by finishing in 15:19.91. The special EV Plus, prepared and driven by Teruo Sugita, had been converted to mid-engine, rear-wheel drive and fitted with extra batteries.

Sales and production

The EV Plus was listed with an MSRP of $53,999, The lease cost included comprehensive and collision coverage, all maintenance, and roadside assistance.

The EV Plus was first available to California drivers starting on May 14, 1997, with four dealerships (three in Southern California and one in Sacramento) offering the new model; eight were leased within a week of release. By December, only 79 had been leased. From May 1997 to July 1998, Honda leased 177 EV Plus vehicles in southern California. In 1998 additional dealerships were authorized in northern California. 15 EV Plus vehicles were leased to the University of California, Riverside as the basis of a car-sharing program; on average, 100 trips per day were taken by faculty, staff, and students, with most trips lasting less than 4 mi. The final EV Plus was assembled in April 1999; in total, approximately 325 were leased to customers: 300 in the United States, 20 in Japan, and 5 in Europe.

At the time Honda announced it would discontinue production, it promised to continue to re-lease and service the EV Plus indefinitely. Honda allowed some customers to extend their EV Plus lease for a few years. At the end of the leases, all EV Plus cars were taken back by Honda, decommissioned, and eventually destroyed, shown on camera in a PBS program and depicted in a scene from the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?. A few Honda EV Plus chassis were used as the base for some of Honda's first hydrogen () fuel cell vehicle prototypes.

The platform and drivetrain of the EV Plus were reused for the Honda FCX, a fuel cell vehicle. Instead of the high-voltage traction battery of the EV Plus, the FCX used hydrogen stored on board in a fuel cell reactor to generate electricity. Then those prototypes were also destroyed.

Gallery

File:1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 02.jpg| 3/4 front view File:1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| Side view File:1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 03.jpg| 3/4 rear view File:Nameplate of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| Name decal File:Charging port and UL label of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| Avcon charging port & UL label File:Charging port of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| Avcon charging port close-up File:UL label of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| UL label File:Engine of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| Motor compartment File:Engine warning label of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| Warning label on motor controller File:Engine warning label of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 02.jpg| FCC label on motor controller File:Instrument panel of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 01.jpg| Instrument panel File:Instrument panel of a 1997-1999 Honda EV Plus 02.jpg| Instrument panel close-up

References

References

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