Honda will be joining other automakers in reducing its internal combustion engine (ICE) cars while manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) to replace them in 2030.
The company recently announced that it intends to allocate approximately 5 trillion yen or around 40 billion dollars to technologies that would further accelerate its electrification and launch 30 EV models globally by 2030.
Honda believes that its electrification efforts, which are part of its wish to seek a "zero environmental footprint," would help it realize "the joy and freedom of mobility."
A Honda EV car is displayed at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on September 26, 2020.
Honda Electrification Details
According to Honda's announcement, it would first procure liquid lithium-ion batteries for its EVs by strengthening its partnership with external companies, such as General Motors (GM), China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL), and the Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC).
Honda is also considering the possibility of creating a joint venture company with GM for battery production aside from procuring EV batteries from the latter company.
The company will also invest around 43 billion yen or 342 million dollars to further accelerate its independent research and development of next-generation batteries and build a demonstration line to make it operational by Spring 2024. These next-generation batteries Honda would produce should be available in the market by the second half of the 2020s.
Honda will also introduce two mid-to-large-size EV models, the Honda Prologue SUV and the Acura EV SUV, in North America from now through the second half of the 2020s. These cars are currently being developed with GM, but Honda didn't disclose the car's release date.
Similarly, the automaker will introduce 10 new EVs in China and Japan by 2027 and in early 2024, respectively.
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By the second half of the 2020s, Honda will begin adopting Honda e:Architecture, an EV platform that "combines the hardware platform and software platform."
Techcrunch mentioned in its article that this architecture, which Honda will introduce in 2026, is the result of Honda "beefing out" its software capabilities. It also includes cloud-connection features aside from hardware and software platforms.
Honda plans to launch 30 EV models by 2030 through the previously mentioned initiatives with a production volume of more than two million units annually.
To help realize its plan for 2030, Honda will also build a dedicated EV plant in Guangzhou and Wuhan, China, and a dedicated EV production line in North America.
Honda's Unique Approach
Honda mentioned in its announcement that it is on track to achieve its 10 percent reduction for global automobile production, compared to the cost recorded in 2018.
The company's goal is to reduce its global automobile production to one-third by 2025.
The automaker believes that a multifaceted and multidimensional approach is needed to realize carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities and not just replace car engines with EV batteries.
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