Long skeptical of battery-electric vehicles and just getting ready to bring its first long-range model to the U.S. market, Honda now plans to follow up a total of 30 BEVs by 2030.
The third-largest of the Japanese automakers will invest 5 trillion yen, or about $40 billion, in that effort — with the figure growing to $64 billion to include software and other new technologies such as robots, electrified flying cabs and space exploration. Honda recently extended its relationship with General Motors which will become key to its expanded electrification program.
The new all-electric models will include vehicles costing as little as $8,000 in Japan, as well as a supercar set to serve as Honda’s flagship. But while the company expects to sell nothing by BEVs by 2040, CEO Toshihiro Mibe stressed that the company is not abandoning its hybrid line-up before then.
“By no means is this the end of hybrids and the replacement of all hybrids with EVs,” Mibe said during a Tuesday presentation in Tokyo. “We will develop our current hybrids and use them as a weapon in our business.”
GM key to Honda’s plans
Until recently, Honda took a cautious, almost reluctant, approach to pure electric models, focusing instead on hybrid models like its current Insight line. It began to shift directions several years ago when it inked a joint venture with General Motors to develop a pair of long-range all-electric models based on GM’s Ultium platform and batteries. The first, dubbed the Honda Prologue, will go on sale in 2024, with a more luxurious Acura model to follow.
A week ago, the two partners announced plans to expand their relationship, among other things targeting entry-level models that could help bring in more mainstream buyers. That was expected to yield new offerings for both Honda and GM starting under $30,000. But the Japanese automaker intends to go even lower for its domestic Japanese market with both commercial and retail micro vehicles that would drop as low as $8,000.
At the other extreme, there will be two electric supercar “flagship” models which Honda teased under sheets during the presentation.
The automaker provided no other details during the event but several company insiders have told TheDetroitBureau.com in recent months the automaker has been looking at options for bringing back the Acura NSX. The current model, which will be phased out this year, uses an unusual plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Going forward, those insiders said, a plug-in hybrid could be one option, though a pure electric version would be more likely.
Honda eArchitecture
All told, Honda wants to go from selling virtually no BEVs today to at least 2 million by the end of the decade.
Versions of the GM Ultium platform will be essential to that expansive target, though Honda does plan to continue working on its own “eArchitecture.” It will leverage some of GM’s technology but introduce some unique-to-Honda features, including its basic electric system. Looking forward, many industry experts believe that is one of the critical areas where automakers will be able to differentiate their all-electric products.
Battery plant likely to follow
Honda also signaled it is looking at forming its own battery plant, forming a separate partnership with a battery manufacturer, much as GM has done with South Korea’s LG Chem. Company officials offered no other details during the Tuesday presentation.
But it did note that it will invest $343 million in a demonstration line focused on the solid-state batteries many expect to begin replacing lithium-ion technology later this decade. It also plans to expand the use of shorter-range battery technology provided by CATL in China, and from Envision AESC for the Japanese market.
Honda’s latest shift towards BEVs leaves only Toyota continuing to push for a plan blending all-electric, hybrid and hydrogen powertrain technology for the indefinite future.
