in Kumamoto and Saitama
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced plans to begin real-world demonstration testing before the end of this year of next-generation electric personal mobility products, including electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric scooters and electric carts. The demonstration program will be conducted jointly with Kumamoto and Saitama regions in Japan.
In a comprehensive approach unique to Honda to be conducted in collaboration with the two municipalities, Honda’s electromotive technologies for motorcycles, automobiles and power products, together with information and communication technologies, a solar-powered energy station and other technologies will be utilised under the real-world urban transportation environment to address the following two agendas:
* Verification of the effectiveness of next-generation personal mobility products with electromotive technologies, specifically electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric scooters and electric carts, along with utilisation of sustainable energy such as solar power for the realisation of a low-carbon society in the future.
* Study of how future personal mobility and the urban transportation system should be designed to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life (QOL*) of local residents.
By partnering with Kumamoto and Saitama regions, where Honda operations including manufacturing plants are located and collaborative relationships already exist in various areas, Honda will strive to effectively conduct verification testing and make further contributions to both communities.
Honda is planning to conduct this demonstration first in Japan and then in regions outside Japan such as the U.S., mostly in the area of automobiles. In the U.S., starting by the end of this year, Honda will begin demonstration testing of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles with participants including Stanford University, Google Inc. and the City of Torrance, California under the Advanced Technology Demonstration Program.
*QOL (Quality of Life): A concept to measure to what extent people are living their lives in a humane manner and feeling not only physical but spiritual richness and happiness.
Concept of the next-generation personal mobility experiment
Outline of the experiment: Kumamoto region
Honda will verify the effectiveness of its electromotive technologies and information and communication technologies to realise a low-carbon mobility society and to improve the QOL of local residents in the face of an aging society. Prior to the start of the experiment, Honda and Kumamoto region will sign a framework agreement on the experiment of the next-generation personal mobility.
○Using experimental models of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as the EV-neo electric scooter, Honda will verify the effectiveness of such personal mobility to realise low-carbon mobility within the region.
○By monitoring the positional and operational information of participating Monpal ML200 electric carts, Honda will verify how such personal mobility will contribute to the QOL, especially the quality of the daily life and health of local residents in the face of an aging society.
○By establishing and utilising recharging stations that use thin-film solar cells manufactured by Honda Soltec, Honda will verify the effectiveness of the system which reduces CO2 from the energy-supply phase.
Outline of the experiment: Saitama region
Honda will verify the effectiveness of its electromotive technologies and information and communication technologies to realise a low-carbon mobility society in the future. This experiment will be conducted based on an agreement about collaboration in the area of the environment, which Honda and Saitama region signed in March 2009.
○Using experimental models of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as EV-neo electric scooter, Honda will verify the effectiveness of such personal mobility to realise low-carbon mobility within the region.
○Using EV-neo electric scooter, Honda will verify the possibility of increasing the efficiency of energy use. By monitoring positional and operational information of participating EV-neo scooters, Honda will verify the effectiveness of improved efficiency during the business use of such personal mobility.
○Utilising the function of InterNavi Premium Club, Honda’s original interactive information network service for automobiles, Honda will provide information related to the recharging of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as information to support eco-driving.
