Honda Saying Iie (No) to Plug-In Hybrids

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said today that he doesn’t see any advantage to plug-in gasoline-electric hybrids like GM’s Chevy Volt concept. There has been widespread optimism about the powertrain, but detractors say plugging into already-stressed electric grids — which are often powered by coal-burning plants — is harmful. It seems Fukui agrees.

He said Honda is working on a hybrid-only family car for a 2009 launch. This is news to us. We had heard of a hybrid-only compact car, but a dedicated family car seems aimed directly at Toyota’s Prius. He also said the hybrid technology is getting cheaper and will be about a $1,750 premium versus a conventional gas-powered car. Surprisingly, most of the costs come from production, not the equipment in the hybrids. “Right now, the Civic Hybrid is pretty much hand-made,” Fukui said.

So what will Honda develop to take the place of hybrids if it doesn’t go electric? The company is looking at hydrogen and has developed working prototypes (the FCX shown above), as well as home hydrogen station prototypes. Fukui says that in 10 years hydrogen will be closer to a mass-market reality, and obviously the company doesn’t think it needs a stop-gap like plug-ins.

Honda Sees Big Hybrid Volume Push With Next Model (Reuters via AutoblogGreen)