Honda e:HEV- Honda's Hybrid Tech for India
Honda e:HEV- Honda's Hybrid Tech for India

Honda e:HEV- Honda’s Hybrid Tech for India

28/01/2025
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Honda has been in the hybrid technology game for a long time. This is not the first appearance of a hybrid Honda in India. The first hybrid that was launched here was the 8th-generation Civic Hybrid in 2008. The car performed miserably due to the high asking price and, moreover, the hybrid system was not as advanced as we see now. It was something similar to a mild hybrid technology.

8 years later, Honda gave a second shot to its hybrid innings via the Accord Hybrid. The car in question was the 9th gen Accord. But again, due to it being a CBU, sales were very poor due to the high asking price caused by the heavy taxes levied on such imported cars. The car sold even less than the Civic hybrid, which was pretty obvious. But this time, their approach was different. The Accord was a proper strong hybrid that utilized the Atkinson cycle for power transmission. Eventually, the car was discontinued due to the low sales.

Come 2022. Honda is ready with their 3rd attempt in the Hybrid category, and this time it was with the evergreen Honda City. The car was called Honda City e:HEV, and it had blue surrounds to the Honda logo. The car was offered in a single fully loaded ZX variant, again resulting in low sales but this car sold better than the previous two attempts from Honda. The hybrid had small nifty additions like rear disc brakes, an electronic parking brake, and a dedicated wireless phone charger. When this car was launched, Honda’s ADAS tech made its debut with it and it was christened “Honda Sensing”. All was not rosy, as there were small gremlins such as a steep premium over the regular City and a slightly smaller boot. The car continues to sell in low numbers but is one of the most advanced hybrids to have been sold in the Indian market.

Powering the car is the same 1.5-litre iVTEC motor but the point to note is that the engine charges the batteries and is not in contact with the wheels. The engine runs on an Atkinson cycle. The engine block is imported from Japan. There are two electric motors, of which one works as a generator connected to the engine and the other one works as a traction motor driving the wheels. There is no contact between the engine and the wheels, eliminating the need for a transmission. The wheels are driven by the traction motor, which sources power from the battery pack which is situated in the boot, and the generator connected to the engine. If in case the battery is out of power or there is a requirement of more power, the IC engine compensates for the requirement by supplying power to the traction motor via the generator motor. The traction motor produces 108 BHP and the generator motor produces 94 BHP. The final power figures are 124 BHP and 253 NM of torque, all of which are available right from the word go i.e., at 0 RPM.

The car has 3 modes of operation:

EV Mode: In this mode, the IC engine does not run at all. This mode is only used for low speeds and light throttle inputs. The City can run up to 40 KMPH in EV mode unless the battery level is low.

Hybrid Mode: This is the main mode of the car, and most likely this is the mode it will be used for in most scenarios. Above 40 KMPH, the hybrid mode is activated. Also when the vehicle is above speeds of 120KMPH, it only operates in hybrid mode. In this mode, the IC engine is running along with the motors. There are two different conditions of operation in hybrid mode, the first case is when the engine is at idle RPM so that the battery can be charged and the traction motors can continue to power the wheels and the second case is when there is more power requirement of the car, the engine will increase the revs and drive the generator to provide more power to the traction motor. The IC engine is never driving the wheels but is driving the motors.

Engine mode: This mode is operational from 80KMPH to 120KMPH. It is used to check when the engine speed is optimal for the engine to drive the wheels to provide maximum efficiency. A clutch is engaged and locks the engine to the wheels in a single ratio. What this means is that the IC engine is mechanically driving the wheels. However, when there is a heavy load on the throttle, the engine shifts back to hybrid mode. Engine mode is mostly used only for cruising, to extract maximum possible efficiency.

There are paddle shifters provided behind the steering wheel which are used to alter the regenerative braking level. To slow down the car, the driver can do so by altering the regen level with these pedals. However, do keep in mind one has to use the brakes to come to a complete halt.

The system might sound very complex, but the way it operates is very seamless and intuitive. Honda’s aim is to reduce the power loss that happens during power transmission from various components of the powertrain and increase efficiency to the maximum possible extent. There have been instances where owners have extracted around 1000KMS on a full tank of fuel.

As of now, the Honda City e:HEV is a low-selling niche product due to its high asking price. However, Honda has shown interest in localizing it, which might bring costs down and make this engineering marvel more accessible to Honda loyalists and general consumers as well.

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