Development of the Motor Assist System for the Hybrid Automobile - The Civic Hybrid

A compact hybrid passenger car, the Civic Hybrid, has been developed to achieve both good fuel economy and cleaner operation to answer increasing interest in global environmental protection and resource conservation. The main power source is the 1.3-L SOHC 4-cylinder i-DSI (dual and sequential ignition) lean-burn engine with two plugs per cylinder. The cylinder idling system (CIS) is also adopted in order to increase the amount of electrical energy regenerated during deceleration. The hybrid configuration is based on Honda's integrated motor assist (IMA) system. Maximum regenerative torque increases approximately 30% because of the improved magnetic circuit and a new manufacturing method for the rotor in the thin DC brush-less motor. This results in good fuel economy rating (city: 46mpg, hwy: 51mpg), meeting the Ultra-low emissions (ULEV) standard. The small-sized IPU (intelligent power unit with Ni-MH batteries) is located behind the rear seat in order to yield trunk space on a par with the Civic LX, the base vehicle for the Civic Hybrid