Above; The automated motor assembly line
Above; The battery unit incorporates less number of cells.
Above; The compressor is driven by the belt alone.Honda Motor Co Ltd took a series of cost reduction measures for the new Insight, which was released Feb 5, 2009, to realize the low prices starting from ¥1,890,000 (approx US$20,700).
In particular, the cost of its hybrid system was "reduced by 40%" through reduction of the number of parts used in the motor and the battery unit as well as improvement of production capacities for them, Honda President Takeo Fukui said.
In particular, the cost of its hybrid system was "reduced by 40%" through reduction of the number of parts used in the motor and the battery unit as well as improvement of production capacities for them, Honda President Takeo Fukui said.
In order to achieve the target annual production volume of 200,000 units, new automated assembly lines were established in its Suzuka plant to manufacture the motors and the battery units, according to Honda. With those lines, the volume efficiency was enhanced, and the production speed was tripled, lowering the production cost, according to the company.
In respect to the battery unit, the number of parts has been reduced by about 50% compared with the Civic hybrid. As for the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) secondary battery, the output per module was improved by 30%, reducing the number of cells to 84 from the 132 used in the Civic hybrid.
As for the motor, the output was lowered from 15kW to 10kW. And the winding density was improved to reduce the thickness and the weight by 22% and 15%, respectively, compared with the Civic hybrid, lowering the material costs. As to the neodymium-based magnet used in the rotor of the motor, the rare earth content was reduced, while maintaining the performance, according to Honda.
In respect to the engine, though the cylinder head was newly developed, the cylinder block is the same as used in the Fit. For cost reduction, the air conditioner compressor of the new Insight was designed to be driven only by the engine belt, while the one in the Civic hybrid can be driven by power as well as the engine belt.
Furthermore, the parts that needed to be designed from scratch were strictly separated from those that can be shared with other models. The shared parts include the radiator, front knuckle arm, lower arm, front disk brakes, sub-frame, steering gear box, rear brakes, H-shaped torsion beam, parking brake lever mechanism and CVT (continuously variable transmission), according to Honda.
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