Honda is planning to take a major step towards electrification by 2025 by introducing a new electric vehicle platform. Honda has set a target of having all its models worldwide by 2040 electric or fuel cell, which runs on hydrogen and is emission-free.
Honda is gearing up for an electrification shift in North America, developing two models on sale next year with General Motors and a larger EV with a new platform in 2025, a year earlier than initially announced.
President Toshihiro Mibe announced Wednesday a broad set of plans to put Honda on the global EV map, saying “we believe the value society will build on being kind to the environment will only accelerate.”
Mibe told reporters that Tokyo-based Honda will move on investments and partnerships to realize such goals.
Honda has set a target of having all its models worldwide be electric or fuel cell by 2040, running on hydrogen and being emission-free. It aims to produce more than 2 million EVs a year by 2030.
In Japan, where EV demand is slowly growing, an EV based on the smaller N-ONE model will go on sale in 2025. Two more EV models are planned for next year.
In China, the world’s largest EV market, Honda Motor Co. It has three EV models slated to go on sale next year, the e:NS2, e:NP2 and a concept unveiled at the recent Shanghai Auto Show.
By 2027, Honda will introduce seven more EV models in China. By 2035, Honda aims to be 100% electric for its China sales over other regions.
All the world’s automakers are getting serious about electric vehicles, now dominated by Tesla and China’s BYD. As governments move to curb emissions and climate change, previously skeptical consumers are starting to buy EVs, particularly in the US and parts of Europe and Australia.
The big question is whether Honda and Toyota Motor Corp. Like Japanese manufacturers, they will be able to dominate the market as they have historically been gas-guzzlers.
Some analysts say that a car is still a car and that the wealth of auto manufacturing know-how is still in the new electric era. Others claim that it is a whole new ballgame, with many opportunities for new players.
Toyota’s EV bZ4X, which went on sale last year, was recently recalled for a defect with wheel hub bolts that could separate the wheels and pose a crash hazard. About 2,700 vehicles were recalled globally. No crashes have been reported and the model is back on sale.
But it served as a painful reminder of such pitfalls when entering new territory with a flagship model. Toyota previously relied on hybrids, which switch back and forth between gas engines and electric motors as well as hydrogen-powered fuel cells.
Toyota president Koji Sato, who took office this month, has acknowledged that Toyota has fallen behind in EV sales worldwide.
The main drawback for the proliferation of EVs is the battery, which is heavy, which is a challenge in auto development. The components needed to make batteries are expensive.
According to Honda Mibe, to ensure stable supply of nickel, cobalt and lithium for batteries, Japanese trading company Hanwa Co. plans to leverage its strategic partnership with
In North America, Honda will use General Motors batteries and a joint venture with South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions. Honda will build the electric model at three of its plants in Ohio, including the Marysville plant in the US.
Under the US Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden last year, EVs must be assembled in North America to qualify for the full tax credit, and a certain percentage of their battery parts and minerals must come from North America or US free trade. partner
Honda is also working on developing solid-state batteries for EVs, Mibe said. EVs now run mostly on lithium-ion batteries.
Honda’s 2025 platform is called the “E&E architecture” for “electric and electronic,” which refers to the software, connectivity and services that work while driving and are updated over time. Automakers will compete in this field.
Mibe said Honda has faced a recent shortage of computer chips that has hit all automakers, partly due to restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Honda has entered into a basic agreement with Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, to protect against such shortages in the future.
“We hope to lead the world in ecological manufacturing,” Meebe said. AP reporter Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed.
