Integrated Motor Assist

Integrated Motor Assist (commonly abbreviated as IMA) is Honda's hybrid car technology, introduced in 1999 on the Insight.

2006 Civic Hybrid, however, can activate the electric motor while the vehicle is coasting without turning on the internal combustion engine, though in contrast to Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) or General Motors and DaimlerChrysler's Global Hybrid Cooperation, the IMA has a less powerful motor/generator which allows the car to slow or stop its rate of deceleration to a lesser extent; it cannot operate without turning over the engine which is directly coupled to its electric motor.

The acceleration boost is important as it allows the engine to be scaled down to a smaller but more fuel-efficient variant without rendering the vehicle unacceptably slow or weak.

This smaller engine is the primary reason cars equipped with IMA get better highway mileage than their more conventional counterparts.

However, since the IMA also acts as the vehicle's alternator, eventually the 12 volt accessory battery would require an external charge.