To catch up to its competitors worldwide in the transition to battery-powered vehicles, Japanese manufacturer Honda Motor (7267.T) said on Tuesday that it will begin production of a new electric vehicle series in 2026.
The second-largest automaker in Japan has been sluggish in accelerating EV sales, trailing behind US and European rivals like General Motors (GM.N) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and up against more recent entrants like China’s BYD (002594. SZ).
At the CES trade exhibition in Las Vegas, Honda introduced its “Honda 0 Series,” and two concept cars that it thinks will help it achieve its objective of having all its new car sales come from battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040.
At a December press meeting in Tokyo, Honda officials stated that the company plans to release the first models of its new series by 2026. The global premiere of the series will begin in the North American market. At the briefing, the executives withheld information about the series, including its pricing, the number of models the business plans to introduce, and the number of cars it hopes to sell.
According to corporate figures, battery-powered vehicles represented less than 0.5% of Honda’s global sales of around 2.8 million automobiles during the first nine months of 2023, or roughly 11,000 vehicles.
Of them, it sold around 10,400, or roughly 93%, in China; none were sold in North America. Honda has stated that it intends to produce two million electric vehicles annually worldwide by 2030 and has set a goal to launch thirty battery-only models by then.
According to a government source, Honda representatives are meeting with Canadian authorities this week. This comes after a news report said the automaker was considering constructing an electric vehicle facility in Canada for about 2 trillion yen ($13.9 billion).
According to the Nikkei Business Daily, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe told reporters in Las Vegas on Tuesday, “There is a possibility that we will build a plant in Canada.”
The Saloon, a vehicle that would have held four or five people, was one concept model displayed at the CES trade exhibition.
According to officials at the Tokyo conference, the idea was anticipated to resemble the vehicle relatively closely in production, though certain aspects of its appearance may yet alter.
According to the executives, the Space-Hub, a van-like vehicle that was supposed to accommodate six or seven people, was the other idea the manufacturer exhibited. Honda also revealed that the logo for its next EV series will be updated, adopting a sleeker, more angled shape than it is now.
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