Honda to move to 100% sales of electric vehicles by 2040: CEO
The company expects EVs and FCVs to account for 40% of sales by 2030 and 80% by 2035 in all major markets, including North America and China.
Honda Motor Co. has made an announcement to move towards cleaner fuels and has also set a deadline of 2040. The company plans to transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) by 2040. The chief executive of the company, Toshihiro Mibe made the announcement on Friday.
During an event, Mibe said, “I believe it is the responsibility of an automaker to achieve our carbon-free goal on a ‘tank-to-wheel’ basis.”
By 2030, the company expects EVs and FCVs to account for 40% of sales and it will further increase it to 80% by 2035 in all major markets which include North America and China.
The new commitment from the company came soon after the country’s promise to cut emissions by 2030. Yoshihide Suga, Japanese Prime Minister has aimed at a 46% cut in emissions by 2030 and look for ways to go even further, nearly doubling from its previous target.
The target set by the government is “feasible”, Mibe said.
“While the government’s target is extremely difficult, I believe it is a feasible target from the viewpoint of Japan becoming carbon neutral in 2050,” he said.
“As for Honda, we are in full support of this target – 46% -and we’d like to put all our efforts towards achieving the goal,” he added.
Mibe began his leadership amid a growing shift in automobile technology to electric vehicles and autonomous driving. Traditionally known for its fuel-efficient internal-combustion engines, Honda launched its first mass-produced all-battery vehicle last August.
Mibe said Honda will invest a total of about 5 trillion yen ($46.3 billion) in research and development initiatives, including electrification, over the next six years, regardless of sales revenue fluctuations.
In North America, Honda and GM will introduce two jointly-developed large-sized EV models using GM’s Ultium batteries in 2024, and will launch a series of new EV models which feature a new EV platform dubbed e:Architecture.
In Japan, Mibe said it was aiming for EVs and FCVs to account for 20% of sales by 2030 and 80% by 2035. Meanwhile, he said Honda will include hybrid vehicles in its 2040 target, citing that changing conventional cars to hybrid is a “realistic solution” for the domestic market.
Mibe said the company also aimed to include advanced driver-assistance systems in all of its models in major markets by 2030.
Source: livemint
