Honda announces new development of hybrid structure using steel and aluminum for subframe of a mass-production vehicle

Honda Motor Company has announced the latest technology which brings together steel and aluminum to make the first ever subframe of a mass produced vehicle. This technology will be used first in North American version of 2013 Honda Accord which is expected to be launched in dealer showrooms on 19th September 2012 before it makes its way into other models.

Reduction of weight equates to higher fuel economy and it is this that has caused Honda to bring about Friction Stir Welding which fuses together steel and aluminum. At high pressure this results in additional welding strength over and above Metal Inert Gas welding.

Body weight is reduced by 25% while electric consumption is reduced by 50% and there is increased rigidity on the mounting point to the tune of 20% which in turn helps in augmenting vehicle performance. Honda expects to use this technology in mass production of vehicles. Honda has side by side developed a non destructive inspection system which consists of an infrared camera and laser beam which monitors the welding and bonding process through every stage.

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Auto News Release

Honda Develops New Technology to Weld Together Steel and Aluminum and Achieves World's First Application to the Frame of a Mass-production Vehicle

- Hybrid-Structured Front Subframe Achieves Both Weight Reduction and Increased Rigidity -

TOKYO, Japan, September 6, 2012 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that it has newly developed a technology for the continuous welding of the dissimilar metals of steel and aluminum and applied it for the first time in the world to the subframe of a mass-production vehicle, a key component of a vehicle body frame. Honda will adopt this technology first to the North American version of the all-new 2013 Accord, which will go on sale in the United States on September 19, 2012, and will expand application sequentially to other models.

Striving to reduce vehicle weight in order to increase fuel economy, Honda focused on Friction Stir Welding (FSW) and developed a new technology for the continuous welding of steel and aluminum. This technology generates a new and stable metallic bonding between steel and aluminum by moving a rotating tool on the top of the aluminum which is lapped over the steel with high pressure. As a result, the welding strength becomes equal to or beyond conventional Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding^*1.

This new technology contributes to an improvement in fuel economy by reducing body weight by 25% compared to a conventional steel subframe. In addition, electricity consumption during the welding process is reduced by approximately 50%. It also enabled a change in the structure of the subframe and the mounting point of suspension, which increased the rigidity of the mounting point by 20% and also contributed to the vehicle's dynamic performance.

Furthermore, Honda established a new method to apply this technology to mass-production vehicles. Conventionally, FSW required use of large equipment, but Honda developed a FSW continuous welding system applied to a highly versatile industrial robot. This system also can be used for aluminum-to-aluminum welding and thus, the welding system with the same specifications can be used for production of a full-aluminum subframe.

Honda also developed a non-destructive inspection system^*2 using a highly-sensitive infrared camera and laser beam, which enables an in-line inspection of the bonding location for every unit.

*1 A welding technique most commonly used for welding of identical materials such as steel-to-steel or aluminum-to-aluminum

*2 A system that evaluates quality without actually destructing the parts

 

India to be major manufacturing hub for Honda: Exports in Asia and Africa

After Toyota Kirloskar, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and M&M, now Honda Siel Cars has also announced their decision to cater to South Asian and South African markets from India. Honda will be commencing export operations with their flagship City sedan while other cars will follow in due course.

India will be the company's main manufacturing hub primarily due to spare capacity on hand and the fact that it is more cost effective. The Indian manufacturing plant located in Greater Noida will supplement Honda City cars to African countries while the Thailand set up will cater to other global markets. Besides markets of Africa, the company is also looking to markets of Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from where they are expecting demand to increase in the coming months.

Currently Honda only sells about 100 City and smaller models in these countries where they will soon be launching the Honda Brio. Honda Brio was launched in Indian markets at the end of 2011. It has received overwhelming response and it is expected that the same response will be seen in other Asian markets as well. Currently Honda has excess capacity of auto manufacturing in India. It is expected that this excess capacity instead of resulting in piling stock, will be used for exports to other Asian, and African countries.

Honda to hire 300 at Indiana plant: Invests $40 million to boost production by 50,000 units

Production at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) will be boosted following company's investment plans to the tune of $40 million. Production capacity will be stepped up by 50,000 units from current 200,000 units while the company also plans on additional recruitment of 300 employees to cater to these additional production requirements.

Civic Hybrid production will also commence from early 2013. This vehicle is looked upon as being the company's bestselling hybrid vehicle. Besides this Civic Hybrid, HMIN also produces Civic Sedan and Civic Natural Gas along with Acura models. By production of these highly fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, HMIN has most diverse production capacity of any plant in the US auto sector.

The company is now keen on ensuring that their products are well accepted by their customers in the US and capacity is increased not only in Indiana plant but in their existing seven plants spread over all of length and breadth of North America. Production capacity currently stands at 1.63 million vehicles per annum and while the Indiana plant will be going into second shifts, the Honda plant in Marysville also starting second shift production activities at the end of last year. Local production capacity is expected to grow at the rate of 90% in the not too distant future.

Read the press release below for more information.

Honda invests $111 million in Malaysia car plant to double production

Honda Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., (HMSB) held ground breaking ceremony for setting up of their second automobile production line. HMSB is company's joint venture in Malaysia which currently has overall production capacity of 50,000 units from its first line. The second line of production, once it comes into being will add further 50,000 units taking total production to 100,000 units per annum. Investment in second line of production is expected to reach MR 350 million ($111 million or Rs 615 crores) while new production line will also offer employment to 700 new employees.

Ground breaking ceremony was attended by Y.A.B. Datuk Seri Hj. Mohd. Ali Bin Mohd. Rustam, Chief Minister of the State of Malacca and Y.B. Dato' Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry along with top Honda executives and associates which also included Hiroshi Kobayashi – COO, Honda Asia Oceanic Region.

HMSB plant rolls out latest Honda hybrid vehicles and Jazz Hybrid will also be added to their existing lineup. The new production line is expected to be completed by early 2013 after which some vehicles from first production line will be transferred to second line. HMSB was declared as top hybrid vehicle seller in Malaysia in 2011 when sales reached 4,600 units.

The company since then has upped their target and expects to sell close to 10,000 units in the current year. Besides setting the ball rolling for a second production line, HMSB have also seen expansion in their test course, a pre delivery inspection site and most recently an automated welding facility.

Honda unveils new in-car cloud based infotainment system

Honda Motors have launched a new in-car infotainment system called HondaLink which will be seen on all Honda ninth generation Accord models. This cloud based system will offer drivers in-car news, information, entertainment through an audio system based interface.

Through this new system, the use of phones in the car will become redundant as drivers will be able to stay connected, listen to music and stay updated with the most recent events from around the world, all through this new HondaLink system. Content is accessible through voice recognition, steering wheel mounted controls and in dash audio system controls.

This service is free of cost to all Honda Accord buyers and is instantly accessible from the cloud. Though some may look upon this system as being a sure shot way to distract drivers while on the road, Vicki Poponi, Honda Asst. Vice President of Product Planning has actually counteracted these claims saying that it will actually encourage motorists to leave their mobile phones aside and stay connected through HondaLink.

HondaLink will also be offered on the new Honda Fit EV and Accord Plug In Hybrids. Owners of these vehicles will be able to stay continually connected to their vehicle and can even use the application to check the state of charging, activate air conditioning and heater in the vehicle as per conditions.

This system is being launched on the 2013 Honda Accord by this fall.  HondaLink EV will launch with Fit EV for lease in California and Oregon from July 20, 2012.