What kind of car is Honda LEGEND?
Expensive!
The “LEGEND Hybrid EX・Honda SENSING Elite” (referred to as “mileage” in Chinese hereinafter), a sedan released on March 4th and sold the next day by Honda, is the world’s first L3-level autonomous driving vehicle that can legally drive on the road. The price of this “Accord King” is 11 million yen (about RMB 690,000), which is comparable to the price of the brand’s national treasure-level supercar, NSX Type-R, in the past.
Few!
Regarding this experimental sales model that is limited to 100 units and uses leasing instead of sales, the development manager of the new mileage, Hitoshi Aoki, stated that this is to ensure that every customer can receive meticulous after-sales service. In Japan, where class boundaries are rigid and customs are deeply ingrained, even the level of a member of a violent gang driving which car has a clear rule, not to mention that the inherent image of the sedan in Japan is something that only old men drive. According to Japanese automotive media, the user profile of this car is described as “middle-aged and elderly people with money,” which should be the official target customer group of Honda.
Outdated!
Based on my years of living in Japan and observations during frequent trips between China and Japan, there are quite a few people in these groups who have just switched from using feature phones “Garakae” or Japanese-style flip smartphones “Galaho”. Under this social background, it is not surprising that the product introduction highlights the ability to watch DVDs on an 8-inch “large screen” after activating autonomous driving. What? Isn’t this too nostalgic? Well, yes. That’s how it is in Japan.Translate the Chinese text in the Markdown format into English in a professional manner, preserving HTML tags in Markdown and output only the corrected and improved parts without explanation.
A screen of a thousand-yuan Android phone is almost as big as this. As for whether this car supports screen projection, I think this is overthinking it. With regard to the customer group that does not have smooth communication due to network connection, the rental sales approach may be the best solution to ensure the close relationship between the manufacturer and users.
Helpless?
As to why they chose the Mileage, a model with low sales, as the first L3 vehicle in the world instead of other vehicles, I have two speculations. First of all, it is natural for a flagship model to adopt the latest technology, and Mercedes-Benz is doing the same. The Mileage has always been a platform for Honda to showcase their technological innovations, but compared to other Honda classics, its presence is very low. Secondly, due to the aging of Japan’s population and the change in lifestyle of young people, Japanese old people like cars more and are more willing to drive than young people. Japan even has a fixed expression for this phenomenon, called “wakamono no kuruma banare.”
Oh, by the way, in order to write this article, I thoroughly studied the Mileage and became a little obsessed with it. Firstly, it is worth admiring that a front-wheel drive architecture vehicle with a longitudinal or transverse engine is equipped with a double-wishbone suspension for each generation.
The first-generation model was jointly developed with British Leyland, the predecessor of Rover Group. At the time of development, Honda’s development staff were also required to stay in luxury hotels to personally experience the meaning of “luxury”, because Honda had never made a luxury car before, and the car manufacturing during Japan’s bubble era was full of methodology.I used to be a big fan of the fourth generation because of its SH-AWD system that is the first four-wheel drive system in the world to actively distribute power to the front, back, and left and right (rear axle). However, I found that the mileage of the third generation, which adopts front-mid longitudinal front-wheel drive, is more attractive. The quirky driving form and classic exterior design of it attract me now. Moreover, the wheelbase of 2,910 mm is the longest in the history, even among the front-wheel drive models (please slap me if I’m wrong).
Off the car enthusiast mode, let’s get back to the topic.
L3’s Race of the Tortoise and the Hare
Darling of the Era?
Although it has plenty of flaws, as the world’s first L3-level model, the symbol of Honda Mileage Hybrid EX・Honda SENSING Elite is obviously more significant than anything else. Audi, which had already launched an L3 level autonomous driving A8 back in 2017, never saw the light of day because there were no corresponding regulatory standards for autonomous driving at that time in Europe. The Japanese, who still like to use cash, may have discovered their backwardness in autonomous driving and started to play the drama of the Tortoise and the Hare.
Nationwide Support for Autonomous Driving
On November 12, 2014, the Japanese Cabinet Office led the project, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the National Police Agency, Toyota, Honda R&D, Nissan and other automakers, universities, and suppliers jointly announced the establishment of the national-scale project “SIP-adus (Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program – Automated Driving for Universal Services)”, which began to promote the autonomous driving project. Yohichi Sugimoto, the chief engineer of Honda Advanced Technology Research Institute and the development director of Honda SENSING Elite, is also a member of the project.
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On September 12, 2018, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan formulated the “Safety Technology Guidelines for Automatic Driving Cars”;
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In October 2018, Softbank and Toyota jointly invested in the MaaS (Mobility as a Service) company MONET Technologies, and Honda and other Japanese OEMs also invested successively. Now the number of joining companies has reached 653.- On April 1st, 2020, Japan began to implement the “Revised Road Transport Vehicle Act” that includes autonomous driving content;
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On November 11th, 2020, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan designated Honda’s new model with L3 level autonomous driving capability.
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On March 5th, 2021, the Honda LEGEND Hybrid EX · Honda SENSING Elite was launched.
It can be seen that in terms of autonomous driving, the Japanese industry has shown astonishing unity and scale. Combining this with the traditional emphasis of Japanese automakers on “series” (i.e. factions) with their suppliers, it is indeed surprising. And from this giant fate-sharing community of autonomous driving, Honda, which has always been dedicated to new technology research and development, lived up to expectations and officially launched the LEGEND Hybrid EX · Honda SENSING Elite on March 5th, 2021, becoming the first manufacturer in the world to offer L3 level autonomous driving technology for passenger cars.
Safety First
Honda’s autonomous driving is a “tortoise and hare race”.
This is what Yoichi Sugimoto, chief engineer at Honda’s Advanced Technology Research Institute, says.
Apparently, Honda, the “tortoise” that took the first step to L3, is more focused on the basic aspects related to safety, while other automakers such as Audi, the “hare” (due to legal restrictions) failed to reach the finish line in time. According to Sugimoto, Honda’s “tortoise” approach to development is slower but safer, and it is precisely this “straightforwardness” that allowed Honda to take the lead. Slow, steady, and safe, it suits the tortoise perfectly.
Honda SENSING Elite, are we flying a plane?
From the configuration of the perception hardware, it can be seen that Honda has taken a thoroughly stable technological route for its first L3 vehicle. With as many as 5 lidars, it is most likely the 16-line Valeo SCALA. In the era where new forces in the supply chain such as Luminar and Innovusion are playing with 300 lines, Valeo SCALA does not seem to be very special. However, the number of lidars is still amazing, considering that one costs 3,999 euros.
Except for the LiDAR, there are also 5 millimeter-wave radars and 2 cameras in the automobile. However, what’s more interesting is Honda’s autonomous driving control solution. As can be seen from the chart provided by Honda, there is a perception system that fuses the information from 5 millimeter-wave radars and 1 camera, as well as a perception system that fuses the information from 5 LiDARs and 1 camera. These two sets of information are recognized and processed respectively, and then output to the main ECU.
There are also two 12V batteries, one located in the front of the car and one in the back. When coupled with the redundant designs of the braking and steering systems, Honda’s double assurance reminds me of airplanes that have safety backups in various systems. However, sorry to say, the implementation of L3 in airplanes was already half a century ago.
Like many other OEMs, Honda’s system also relies on high-precision maps and is equipped with a driver monitoring system. The R-Car V3U self-driving chip embedded in this car has a computing power of 60 TOPS, which is not outstanding. However, compared to domestic and emerging brands that now boast about 1000 TOPS, Honda has given us a tough lesson titled “The Difference between Software-Defined Cars and Software-Defined Futures.”
Although reserving computing power is helpful for future upgrades, is it really supported by good algorithms to handle explosive data by merely increasing the number of sensors and the corresponding computing power? This will be a particularly interesting aspect starting from the second half of 2021.
This car can enter hands-free driving mode under the following two conditions:
- On highways covered by 3D high-precision maps, with speeds ranging from 65 to 125 km/h, the adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping functions can be turned on. At this point, the driver can remove their hands from the steering wheel, but the system will still detect the driver’s gaze and issue warnings if the driver is distracted.## On the highways covered by 3D high-precision maps, the Traffic Jam Pilot (TJP) function can be enabled when the speed is lower than 30 km/h. At this point, the driver’s hands can be off the wheel, and the DVD function on the center console will also be unlocked. If the driver fails to take action after a period of time when human intervention is required according to system prompts, the vehicle will turn on the hazard lights and slow down, stop the vehicle and shift to Park mode, unlock the vehicle, and dial the car’s emergency assistance number.
The former is similar to Cadillac’s Super Cruise, which is still an L2 and requires the driver’s attention and participation in real-time, even though it is hands-free and foot-free. The latter is a true L3 level of autonomous driving, but it can only be started at speeds below 30 km/h and automatically exits when the speed reaches 50 km/h. The usage conditions may seem thin, but Japan’s L3 legal speed limit is currently only 60 km/h or less.
When the TJP function is enabled, playing on the phone is permitted by the revised Japanese “Road Traffic Law,” but Honda strongly discourages such behavior. This is not surprising because Honda and insurance companies jointly bear the compensation for traffic accidents that occur under L3 autonomous driving mode.
Speaking of this, I finally understood why Honda values safety so much. Because “safety” not only protects drivers and passengers but is also Honda’s own “safety” that absolutely does not allow the vehicle to make mistakes under L3 level. At speeds between 30 km/h and 50 km/h, as long as the driver does not actively cause an accident, the rest is the responsibility of others. It seems not particularly difficult to achieve these controls in such a scenario. After being prompted to take over, the driver takes control, and the driver becomes the subject of driving again. According to the “Revised Road Traffic Law,” if the driver cannot take over in time (i.e., if the warning is not responded to within 15 seconds, which causes the car to automatically pull over and stop), the driver will be fined 12,000 yen, about RMB 715.As a country that enacted the earliest laws on autonomous driving, Japan has been conflicted about the technology. On one hand, it is eager to promote autonomous driving; former Japanese Prime Minister Abe even hoped that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics would be a “Technology Day” to showcase the country’s autonomous driving technology to the world. On the other hand, it does not want car manufacturers to bear too much legal and compensation burden, yet it allows drivers to use phones, making them feel that autonomous driving is really useful.
Conclusion
Why does such a powerful car only sell one hundred units? The answer is both obvious and has enough room for imagination.
Cost does not allow
Honda’s conservative approach with this mileage has led to a redundant dual system akin to aviation standards. This trains the same number of LiDAR and millimeter-wave radars to coordinate and independently calculate driving instructions with cameras. Therefore, many people mistakenly think of dual-camera as two single cameras put together.
One can imagine the research and development and bill-of-material costs of 1.3 million kilometers of actual road tests, 10 million computer simulations and hardware redundancy. Clearly, this is not affordable for 100 cars. As a result, this Honda is likely to, as with the Bugatti Veyron and Lexus LFA, cost more to make than it generates revenue, making it a money-losing venture. Even more so when consideration is given to the fact a minor accident can cause insurance premiums to skyrocket, especially given that a € 3,990 LiDAR is placed at the bumper edge.
Only for die-hard fans
Only the 100 LEGEND Hybrid EX・Honda SENSING Elite buyers and media who test drive this car need to watch an hour-long video tutorial before using Honda SENSING Elite. Considering that the offline store resources are limited for such tutoring, it is not difficult to understand why 100 cars were produced.At the beginning of the article, it has been stated that this car can only be used in the form of a lease. However, it should be noted that the lease term is very short, and the car must be returned to the manufacturer after three years, and cannot be bought out. For Honda, it needs to quickly cultivate the understanding and trust of these 100 seed users for autonomous driving, in order to expand the social influence and recognition of autonomous driving, and also to achieve zero errors as much as possible.
At this stage, Honda’s positioning for autonomous driving is safety, not efficiency or other experiences, while Toyota is also committed to promoting the “no-accident society”. If frequent transfers of ownership result in incorrect usage and further accidents, then Honda’s efforts, MONET’s efforts, and even the efforts of the Japanese government may all be in vain.
100 units, helplessness? Routine?
When I finished writing the above content, Japan, which was ravaged by COVID-19, had not yet recovered from its economic downturn. Even Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Katsunobu Kato, proposed a three-day weekend and flexible work arrangements, indicating that Japan’s current purchasing power is not good. Honda, which was supposed to shine at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, did not even see the Olympics happen. This undoubtedly lost a great publicity opportunity. Perhaps, without COVID-19, the production and sales model of this car would be a different story.
When it comes to production volume, in Japan there is a legal definition called “Kit Car” which refers to assembly cars similar to the Kit Cars that hardcore car enthusiasts in Europe and America enjoy. As long as the annual production is less than or equal to 99 units, non-OEMs can also produce and sell vehicles. Conversely, those who can make more than 99 units in a year can only be OEMs. This is also the definition of “mass production” in Japan.
As Japan’s first mass-produced L3 autonomous driving passenger car, the Honda LEGEND Hybrid EX・Honda SENSING Elite has naturally become the world’s first L3 mass-produced autonomous driving passenger car. Isn’t it clever?
If this is the result of crisis PR related to COVID-19 and the delayed Olympics, I think it is well done. But the real crisis for Honda and even Japanese car companies is the solidification of the local industrial chain and the competitive pressure from China and the United States.
Japan’s Autonomous Driving Battle Begins?
I was going to end the article here, but the day before this article was published, on April 8, 2021, Toyota announced that two of its models support L2 level high-speed auxiliary driving functions “Advanced Drive”, which can be operated without hands and can automatically overtake other vehicles.
- The two configurations of the Lexus LS500h cost about 980,000 and 1.07 million RMB, respectively, and are available for sale now.
- The two configurations of the hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai cost about 505,000 and 515,000 RMB (the actual payment price can be reduced to approximately 300,000 RMB after local subsidies) and will be available for lease only to enterprises starting from April 12.
Although Toyota’s two cars did not achieve L3, the LS500h is a conventional retail product, while the Mirai can be purchased by paying the residual value when the lease expires. Both models support OTA upgrades to optimize auxiliary driving functions.
We don’t care whether it’s L2 or L3, we care about how to make users use it with peace of mind.
Maeda Masahiko, a Toyota official, said something similar to Honda at least in the latter half of the autonomous driving statement.
Which is better – Honda with the best performance or Toyota with down-to-earth skills? It’s difficult to judge, but what I’m pretty sure of is that the age of autonomous driving in Japan has come.🔗Source: Honda, Th!nk, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, SoftBank, MONET Technologies, Toyota, [Other name](http starting URL), Toyo Keizai, Japan Traffic Safety Association, SIP-café
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.