It All Started with Research on Alternative Fuel Vehicles
“Electric vehicles that run on solar power? It may not be so long before we start seeing alternative-fuel vehicles such as these electric cars on every street in town ...”
So thought Junichi Araki, then the leader of the fundamental research projects for Honda’s first-generation EV, while reading an article about the first World Solar Challenge (WSC)*1 solar car race held in November 1987.
Araki’s future outlook was already a shared understanding among Honda R&D managers who were in a meeting room with Araki discussing the themes for fundamental research that Honda needed to pursue. This meeting was called to explore what Honda must learn in light of the expected need for cleaner energy and the eventual depletion of petroleum resources.
Although the environmental impact of internal combustion engines (ICE) was already being recognized as a global issue, initiatives such as the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)*2 and the implementation of the Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) Program*3 were still a few years away.
In 1987, Honda concluded the fifth season of its second era of F1TM participation by winning its second consecutive Constructors’ Championship, which had further enhanced Honda’s reputation as an engine supplier. Nobody then could have imagined that 30 years later, Honda would be striving to electrify 100% of its products. Against such a backdrop of the time, Honda’s research into the field of electric vehicles (EVs) began with identifying what needed to be learned as part of the challenge Honda would take on for the future.
Araki recalled: “Electricity was obviously the primary candidate for alternative fuels for automobiles, however Honda had no prior experience in developing EV powerplants. In fact, research on alternative fuel vehicles Honda had conducted by that time was very limited. Therefore, we decided to take on the challenge of creating EVs from scratch. At the same time, we explored the possibility of participating in the WSC with a hope that developing technologies under the intense and harsh environment of racing would enable us to get our hands on EV technologies as quickly as possible.”
Another motivation for taking up the challenge of developing an EV was that EVs would have fewer parts than conventional ICE vehicles, therefore it was considered that EVs would be easier to manufacture and popularize than other alternative fuel vehicle options.
After due consideration of all such factors, in April 1988, Honda launched the fundamental research project with an eye toward the future development of EVs, and Araki was appointed as the leader of the project team, which began with only four members.
- The World Solar Challenge (named the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge as of June 2023) is the world’s most prestigious solar-powered vehicle race, covering a distance of approximately 3,000 km (1,865 miles) from Darwin in northern Australia to Adelaide in the south, over approximately a five-day period. Honda first participated in the second WSC in 1990 and came in second, then won two consecutive WSC: the third and fourth races in 1993 and 1996.
- In 1988, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a forum for intergovernmental discussions on the scientific aspects of global warming.
- The ZEV Mandate was stipulated in the Low-Emission Vehicle Program enacted by the State of California in 1990. The program required automakers that sell more than a certain number of vehicles in California to make a certain percentage of their new vehicle sales Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). The U.S. Clean Air Act, which was amended shortly thereafter, allowed other states to adopt California’s standards. As of march 2022, New York and 12 other U.S. states, along with Washington, D.C., have adopted California’s ZEV standards, with more states planning to adopt beginning in 2026.
Latecomer’s Advantage
EVs have a history longer than most people think. In fact, there are some records suggesting the first EV equipped with rechargeable batteries was put into practical use in 1881, earlier than the first public appearance of a vehicle powered by a gasoline engine, which took place in 1886.
However, due to the lack of innovative advancements of motor and battery technologies over the succeeding years, the short range per charge and the long charging time became an obstacle for the popularization of EVs, and before long, ICE became the mainstream power source for automobiles.
Even in 1988, when Honda launched its EV research team, the EVs people saw in society were still limited mostly to golf carts and amusement park rides. However, the expectations for EVs had been steadily growing in the background, spurred in part by the U.S. Clean Air Act of 1970 and the two major oil crises. In fact, several automakers inside and outside Japan already had EV products in the market.
Honda, on the other hand, had just launched its EV research team and thus had no prior experience or knowledge in the field. Indeed, there were no Honda R&D associates who were experts of EV-related technologies such as batteries and motors. The four research team members decided to turn this to their advantage.
“We knew that those companies that already had a long history of working on EVs would probably just continue their development which would be an extension of whatever they had achieved by then,” Araki recalled. “So, we decided to start our development by leveraging the very best and cutting-edge technologies available to us at that point in time.”
The team immediately began consulting with motor manufacturers, and many offered to help. Although electric motors were widely used as a subcomponent in gasoline-powered vehicles, electric motors to be used for the power source were completely different. Compact, high-powered, high-efficiency motors with outputs of 30kW or more did not yet exist, and Honda’s request to produce more than 30 units of such motors per month was attractive to motor manufacturers.
Procurement of desirable batteries, on the other hand, was not as easy.
At the time, the lead-acid battery was the only type of battery usable as a primary power source for an automobile. However, the team members had a desire to bring together Japan’s most advanced technologies to create an EV. Thus, they wanted a battery which outperformed lead-acid batteries that existed at the time. It was not difficult to predict that the development of such an all-new next-generation battery would take some time, but when they learned that it would take at least four years, they knew they couldn’t afford to wait that long. Despite some remaining challenges, the team decided to forge ahead with the project saying, “Let’s give it a try and build an actual vehicle.”
The first EV the team created was based on a Honda CRX*4 and featured a motor instead of an engine and a commercially available battery. It also featured an aluminum body and acrylic materials instead of glass for the purpose of reducing vehicle weight. Although it was really just a modified version of a CRX with maximum power output of only about 20kW, this first EV model became a significant milestone in the history of Honda’s EV development.
- The second-generation model of the Honda CRX (a compact passenger car originally launched as the Honda Ballade Sports CR-X). The original CRX was launched in 1983, and the second-generation model was sold from 1987 to 1992.
Start of the Full-fledged EV Project
In October 1990, Honda R&D leaders responsible for motorcycle, automobile and power products R&D got together and discussed the direction Honda R&D should take during the last decade leading up to the 21st century.
Naturally, the EV project that, by then, had been ongoing for two years was one of many research themes discussed at the meeting. Takefumi Hiramatsu, who was leading the project which had moved to the phase of developing the mass-production model, remembered this meeting: “That was exactly when we reaffirmed the need to pursue EV development in earnest.”
This reaffirmation was based on their understanding that numerous external factors were already indicating the importance of EVs as future automobiles. For example, in the U.S., concerns had been growing since the late 1980s about the effectiveness of the U.S. Clean Air Act of 1970, which was enacted more than a decade ago in December 1970, and the movement toward more stringent emissions regulations was gaining momentum. In fact, in September 1990, right before this meeting of Honda R&D leaders, the State of California had introduced the Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) Program, which included the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) requirements. At the same time, the United States Federal Government was also preparing to amend the Clean Air Act.
“We knew these new trends in the U.S. were precursors, and similar trends would spread around the world,” said Hiramatsu. “So, we decided to accommodate such a major change in the value system of people and society not only with the continuous improvement of Honda’s core technologies, but also with the development of new technologies that can be alternative technologies to our existing technologies.”
Sure enough, shortly after the meeting at Honda R&D, in November 1990, the U.S. Clean Air Act was amended to encompass the California’s LEV Program and, in 1992, for the purpose of improving air quality, the European Union (EU) would introduce the “Euro 1,” the first EU-wide vehicle emissions standards.
Reaffirming these global trends and the importance of EVs, by early 1991, Honda officially put strategic importance on EVs and began building the system and capability preparing for full-fledged EV development activities.
Honda’s EV research project, which started with only four members, was transformed into a major project with more than 100 members who were handpicked from all six R&D centers of Honda R&D that existed in Japan at that time (located in Wako, Tochigi and Asaka), as well as the then Honda Engineering Co., Ltd.,*5 and some Honda factories.
- Honda Engineering Co., Ltd. (EG) was established in 1974 by merging the Production Engineering Division of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and the Honda Machinery Co., Ltd. to assume the role of research and development of production technologies to ensure Honda’s production competitiveness. In 2020, after transferring some of its production technology R&D functions to Honda R&D Co., Ltd. and automobile production technology development and equipment manufacturing functions to the Automobile Operations of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., EG merged with Honda Motor Co.
No Compromises
The new members added to the project team had a variety of expatriates in various fields, including the development of engines, motorcycle frames, and lawnmowers. However, most of them, except for those original four members, had no knowledge of EV technologies whatsoever.
“The team was consisting of a bunch of individuals who had ample experience in their respective areas of expertise. So it was not so easy to work as one team,” said Kenzo Suzuki, the project leader in charge of the EV powerplant testing. “On top of that, we struggled with deciding what kind of an EV we were going to create while dealing with technological limitations facing EVs at that time.”
As Suzuki recalled, initially, the team members got engaged in a number of heated discussions but couldn’t get to a conclusion, making it impossible to share the image of an EV the team wanted to build.
“Let’s just do it. Let’s build an actual vehicle.”
After a while, the team members were able to agree to that and began working on the first prototype model since the project had been expanded to involve more than 100 engineers.
The team built the prototype based on the existing 3-door Civic, but used an off-the-shelf motor and battery to shave development time. Although an EV required fewer parts than a regular gasoline-powered car, it was still a challenging task to build an EV as most of the team members had no prior experience. With some struggles and uncertainties, the team placed the motor in the front, the battery in the rear seat space, and other electrical components in the cargo area and somehow managed to complete the prototype in July 1991.
The prototype took a first drive in front of the team members including the LPL Araki, and it drove fine without any apparent problems. The team members breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, they thought, “Well, look at that. It actually runs quite well.” However, their sense of relief was shattered in an instant by Araki’s outcry.
Araki recalled that moment with a chuckle: “I couldn’t help but yell, ‘You guys call this a car? What are we trying to make here? Why don’t you go dig a hole and bury it!’”
He was outraged because it was obvious to him, at first glance, that this vehicle was the result of compromises the team made using the excuse of having no prior experience.
Araki then spent about two hours explaining to the team members why he got upset and his beliefs about product development.
Araki later explained, “I told them that it was our mission as the development project members to keep trying various ideas and technologies. If so, each version of the vehicle we build needed to provide meaningful experience that would lead to the next step. If it wouldn’t provide such experience, we would be better off just not making such a vehicle. I was disappointed that they didn’t put more thought and passion into it while working on that particular prototype.”
Everyone on the team was ashamed and mortified because they knew Araki was right: The prototype drove fine as an EV, but it wasn’t a “car” that customers would want to drive.
The team refreshed their determination under a new motto: “Let’s make a great EV with no compromises!”
Shigeru Suzuki, the project leader in charge of the EV powerplant design, recalled:
“After being asked why we hadn’t changed the specifications of the battery so that it would be more suitable for EVs, we discussed this issue many times over. As a result, we were able to propose to our battery manufacturer the battery shapes and sizes that would allow for greater flexibility in packaging design. Our proposal was later approved by the consortium of battery manufacturers, then it eventually became the global standard for EV batteries.”
Layout of EV prototype (based on Civic 3-door)
