08 September 2010

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The all new Honda hybrid – introducing the Insight

Honda is gearing up for one of their most important car launches in several years as the all-new Insight goes on sale in Europe from March 2009.

The Japanese car maker has taken its time developing and refining a car it hopes to sell 200,000 units a year around the world. The original Insight was first marketed back in 1999 and was the company’s first production vehicle with a Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system, back then the Insight was a three door hatchback with fairly limited appeal but importantly for Honda was their first real world test for its hybrid technology, Honda would later refine this and release the Civic Hybrid.

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By 2006 the first generation Insight had run its course and Honda announced production would cease, in all approximately 18,000 Insights were sold in the seven years it was available with Japan and the USA taking up the lion’s share.

The second generation Insight builds on IMA technology used in the first Insight and subsequently in the Civic Hybrid, with the company hoping to entice a much broader customer base.

The Direction of the Honda Insight

A fundamental difference in the second generation Insight is the move from a three door to five door hatchback geared to attract families or people needing extra useable space in their vehicle. Of uttermost importance to the engineers at Honda was to produce a petrol hybrid car which would be affordable to more people than ever before.

That’s why the main aim in the development to reduce the size, complexity and price of components and systems to drive that final retail price down.

Honda wants to bring hybrid technology to a wider market, but knows that the price, or the perceived price, of cleaner cars has prevented some car buyers from even looking at them seriously.

It is one thing to develop an ultra-green product, that only the affluent can afford, but in its quest to be a company that society wants to exist, Honda challenged its engineers to build a hybrid for everyone. It looks like they have succeeded.

Making it Affordable

The Insight is the culmination of over 20 years of hybrid development and more than 35 years of lower impact petrol engine development, which started with the CVCC engine in 1972, that experience and technical knowledge has enabled Honda to develop the components and parts in their IMA system so they can be produced at a lower cost.

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In the decade that Honda has been building hybrids a lot has been learnt about the production of electric motors and other key parts of the hybrid system. This understanding has led to improved production equipment and techniques, which will reduce production costs. And because the major hybrid components are produced in-house, this also helps to control overall costs.

“Our engineers have shown great tenacity and skill in reducing the cost of our IMA system to allow us to reduce the build costs of the Insight. By using so many components that are manufactured in-house, we have the ability in the market to continuously refine our processes in a way an outside supplier might not.” Yasunari Seki, Insight Large Project Leader.

The plan to produce and sell a much larger number of hybrid cars than before leads to basic economies of scale - the more that is produced the lower final cost per unit. To achieve these numbers, a new electric motor production line has been added to the Suzuka factory, in Japan, which will double its per hour production capacity for IMA motors.

Furthermore Honda is able to keep the costs under control by virtually redesigning the entire IMA components to reduce size and cost of the finished motor. The Insight platform and chassis share many components of the new Jazz.

The Motivation for Building an Affordable Hybrid

A key part of Honda’s global philosophy is to be “a company that society wants to exist”. And while that may at first sound like another piece of marketing strategy speak, it is a mantra that is followed the world over, starting with the R&D centres.

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Honda could have chosen to place this cleaner technology in high-end cars; showpiece environmental machines to sell at a premium rate to a low number of customers. There’s probably an argument that says there’s more money per unit in that approach.

However, in line with Honda’s philosophies, beliefs and heritage, the approach was to bring low emission hybrid technology to the masses by using our engineering experience to reduce the costs and therefore the retail price.
As well as introducing new sections of society to cleaner cars, this should also help increase the sales volume of hybrid cars – which will have a positive effect on overall emissions figures, and therefore the environment.

Fuel Consumption and Emissions Improvements

The fuel economy (combined) is 4.4 l/100km, while CO2 emissions are as low as 101g/km which places it in band B for VED purposes and will be one of the lowest emission vehicles on sale today.

Honda has concentrated on developing a car that will deliver better fuel economy in the ‘real world’, taking into account the actual conditions in which the car will be driven by their customers.

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Honda would rather concentrate on delivering the kind of economy customers can see and experience every day, whether driving with the heater and head lights on during the winter or with the stereo pumping and the air conditioning hard at work heat of the summer. These are the real world working environments in which the Insight has been designed to excel.

Honda has produced an affordable, efficient, exceptionally frugal and low emission car but there are styles and techniques of driving that can be employed to take even greater advantage of the hybrid technology. The Eco Assist system developed for the Insight, will train drivers, helping them achieve the best possible fuel economy.
TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk has reported in the past on the Eco Assist as a means to help ‘train’ drivers into making fuel savings based on how they drive. Simple in-car displays provide a real time indication on how green their driving is.

Target Customers

Because the Insight is designed to bring hybrid technology to a wider audience, understandably the carmaker expects mass appeal.

The majority of customers will be new-to-hybrid, traditional C-sector customers that are looking to replace their conventional family car with a more efficient one. They may have deemed a hybrid too expensive previously, but will appreciate the Insight’s roomy proportions and low running costs, as well as the outright purchase price.

For the same reason, Honda expects some existing hybrid customers and owners of more conventional, low CO2 models to move across to the Insight, making the most of the advancements in cost-reducing technologies.

Hatchback Practicality and Aerodynamics

“The reason we chose a 5-door hatchback was that we wanted the car to be popular in Europe,” says Yasunari Seki, Large Project Leader. “American Honda – the biggest market – asked us to build a car with a boot, but we insisted on a hatchback, because to compete with other green cars and sell more in Europe, it had to be a 5-door design. Of course, aerodynamically it is also a more favourable shape.”

Exterior Styling

As a low emission hybrid car, it was important for the Insight’s design to express its environmental credentials. It had to look like a ‘green’ car but it also had to appear dynamic and fun to drive.

Above all, the Insight had to appeal to a broad range of people globally and another important factor related to this was the body style itself. Customer research showed that 5-door body shapes were most popular, and so this layout was chosen to appeal to as many people as possible.

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The Insight takes many styling cues from the FCX Clarity – Honda’s celebrated foray into Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles. This was deliberate to position the Insight as a recognisable, global car with green credentials as well as the aerodynamic advantages of the body shape.

Price

Although not officially announced the Honda Insight is expected to retail at around £15,000 making it the most affordable hybrid currently on the market.

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