You may have remembered how quickly Geely Auto responded to the COVID-19 crisis. Within weeks, they developed an in-car N95 air filter, rolled it out to emergency service vehicles in China, had its effectiveness certified, and extended its availability to Proton vehicles. We had our doubts regarding its effectiveness, but it was definitely a good look for Geely and a great marketing move. Almost a year later, we have Honda’s solution to the problem, and if what they’re saying is right, this one’s less marketing fluff and actually a part of the solution.
Honda are calling it Kurumaku, and it’s rolling out in their Japanese vehicles, starting with the latest N-Box. Unlike the Geely I-APS, this isn’t a standard feature on Honda vehicles. It will be sold as a genuine accessory for 6,400 Yen, or roughly RM250. The I-APS system is available for Proton’s through Geely costs just RM79. The Kurumaku needs to be replaced annually too, but hopefully the virus won’t be as much of a concern for that long.
So why is it more useful than Geely’s solution? Well, the I-APS system is effectively an N95 filter that traps airborne virus particles larger than 0.3 microns. It’s good as a filter, but they don’t make any claims about its ability to destroy virus particles.
Honda’s Kurumaku on the other hand uses zinc phosphate chemical conversion treatment and a special surface to reduce the shape of virus droplets and damage them in the process.
According to Honda, leaving the air recirculation on for 15 minutes with the Kurumaku equipped can effectively remove 99.8% of virus droplets in the car.
As for virus droplets that have landed on the surface of the car’s interior, Honda says it take about 24 hours of use to removed. This is based on testing paid for by Honda, so take it with a pinch of salt.
So, it’s still not a ‘COVID-killer’, but hey, we like this solution a lot. Let’s hope Honda Malaysia find a way to role it out in their Pegoh plant and retrofit it onto their existing models.
PRESS RELEASE (translated from Japanese)
Honda Access Co., Ltd. has released a new antiviral product “Kurumaku ™” for air clean filters, which is installed on top of the air clean filter and damages the caught virus droplets with a special surface shape to reduce viruses.
As a genuine accessory for Honda “N-BOX”, it will be released at Honda Cars nationwide on December 25, 2020 (Friday) in line with the minor model change of the car.
“Kurumaku ™” is installed on top of the air clean filter that is standard equipment on the vehicle to catch virus droplets floating in the vehicle interior space with the air circulation inside the air conditioner , and damage the caught virus with a special surface shape.
To reduce the virus. This is a new antiviral technology that utilizes zinc phosphate chemical conversion treatment, which is also used to prevent rust on vehicle bodies. It is an environmentally friendly product with less risk of developing resistant viruses because it does not use chemicals. Developed at the Manufacturing Center of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Automobile Business Headquarters, and released as a genuine Honda accessory by Honda Access Co., Ltd.
“Kurumaku ™” will be applied to the new N-BOX as a highly versatile product that can be retrofitted to the air clean filter, and will be gradually expanded to other models.
