Honda to display battery car at Tokyo Auto Show

The EV-N electric car is 2.86 meters long, half a meter shorter than the 0.66-liter minicars sold in Japan, company spokeswoman Kumiko Hashimoto said in an e-mail. The Tokyo-based carmaker hasn't said whether the model will go on sale or given details about its range and capabilities.

Honda stopped selling electric cars in 2000 and has since focused on hybrids and hydrogen, which it describes as the “ultimate zero — emission” technology.

The carmaker may now be returning to batteries as Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. prepare to introduce electric cars.

“Battery technology is getting better, and as more carmakers start to commercialize it, there's a greater possibility of significantly lowering costs,” said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory in Tokyo.

Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, will start selling the Leaf electric car next year in the U.S., Japan and Europe. GM aims to start selling the Chevrolet Volt by November 2010. Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, plans to introduce an electric car in 2012. It sold about 1,900 electric RAV4 sport- utility vehicles between 1997 and 2003 in the U.S. and Japan.

Honda, the maker of the FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered electric car, started researching battery cars in 1988 and sold about 320 EV Plus battery-powered models on leases in the U.S. and Japan between 1997 and 2000. That car used a nickel-metal hydride power unit and ran 210 kilometers (130 miles) on a single charge.

Honda hasn't said what battery type the EV-N concept car uses. The model has a retro-modern design inspired by the N360, which Honda first sold in 1967, said Kanna Sumiyoshi, the car's chief designer.

Other vehicles Honda plans to display at the Tokyo show include the concept EVE-neo electric motorcycle, a concept 6-seater Skydeck gasoline-electric hybrid and the CR-Z hybrid sports car, which will go on sale in February.

The Tokyo Motor Show opens to the public on Oct. 24.

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