Honda To Show New Electric Vehicle Concept And Plug-in Hybrid Platform At LA Auto Show

Honda is set to add yet another electric vehicle to its burgeoning concept stable at next month's LA Auto Show, along with a new plug-in hybrid development platform.

Company President and CEO Takanobu Ito will be on hand to unveil the new concept.

If nothing else, we can bet that the unveiling of the concept will be a big event for Honda, with Ito's presence marking the first time a Honda CEO has introduced a worldwide vehicle debut at the more than 100 year-old Los Angeles Auto Show.

Last year, Honda showed off its EV-N electric vehicle concept, along with the Odyssey-inspired Skydeck Hybrid Concept (pictured top of article).

Honda will of course display its other new hybrid models at the event, including the Insight (soon to launch in Australia), the recently-revealed Jazz Hybrid and the upcoming CR-Z hybrid sports car.

As with the new Honda Insight (scheduled for an Australian launch late November), the Jazz Hybrid is powered by an Integrated Motor Assist mild hybrid system. It features a 1.3 litre petrol engine and an electric motor, all mated to a continuously-variable automatic transmission.

The CR-Z is powered by a 1.5 litre four-cylinder i-VTEC petrol engine developing 84kW at 6000rpm, paired with an electric motor producing 10kW. The petrol engine produces 145Nm of torque at 4800rpm, the Integrated Motor Assist system adding a further 77Nm at 1000rpm.

The Honda Insight, set for an Australian debut in December, is powered by a 1.3 litre petrol inline-four, paired with an electric assistance motor and CVT automatic transmission. The whole ensemble is capable of returning fuel consumption figures of around 4.6l/100km - about line-ball with the Civic Hybrid.