1999 Honda EV Plus

edited by David Barth, 26 February 2009.
Courtesy The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Photos were taken in January 2009.

The Honda EV Plus was the first production battery-powered electric vehicle from a major automaker with non lead acid batteries. Fitted with 12-volt nickel metal hydride batteries, the EV Plus' 60-horsepower motor has two driving modes: regular and economy.

In regular mode, the car accelerates from zero to 30 miles per hour in just 4.9 seconds. In situations where top performance is not a priority, the economy mode provides a range of about 80 to 110 miles. Recharging time is between six and eight hours. The charging system for this car is conductive, unlike that of the Nissan Hypermini which is Inductive.

When released, the EV Plus was priced at $53,000, prompting most customers to lease the car for a substantial discount.

As General Motors did with the EV1, Honda recovered most of the EV Pluses after the leases expired and destroyed them.

Gift of American Honda Motor Company, Inc.