Honda is making significant strides in catching up to its competitors in the global electric vehicle market. Despite this, the company’s top executive has claimed that traditional combustion engines could remain in use until at least 2040.
Toshihiro Mibe, the CEO of Honda, has worked in engine development for over three decades, making him somewhat apprehensive about the shift towards EVs. However, he believes that the company’s interests are paramount: “Personally, it’s a little threatening, but I have to separate my own feelings from what is best for the business.”
To further the development of Honda’s EV and battery business, the company plans to create a separate business unit next month. Mibe stated that this unit could eventually invest in charging stations similar to Tesla’s Supercharger network. Unfortunately, Mibe admitted that the current charging infrastructure is inadequate for Honda’s customers.
See also: LG Energy Solutions and Honda Establish Joint Venture for EV Battery Production
Honda is exploring a range of possibilities, from chargers and advanced batteries to aerial vehicles and rockets, as well as new low-carbon e-fuels that could help prolong the life of combustion engines in performance cars, big trucks, and airplanes for another decade or two. Nevertheless, Mibe stressed that Honda’s primary focus is on electrification and fuel cells, which are the two core components of future mobility as the company moves towards carbon neutrality.
Honda has been slower to commit substantial amounts of money to the development and production of EVs and batteries compared to larger competitors such as Volkswagen and General Motors. However, the company now plans to invest at least $40 billion by 2030, aiming to increase the share of hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its sales to 40% by the end of the decade.
As part of these investments, Honda has formed a $3.5 billion joint venture with LG Energy Solution to build batteries starting in 2025. These batteries will be used in Honda’s future EV factories in North America, which will begin production after 2024. Before then, Honda plans to introduce two new electric SUVs in 2024, the Honda Prologue and the Acura ZDX, from GM’s Spring Hills factory in Tennessee.
Mibe confirmed that Honda is designing its own EV architectures, and the first of these designs will arrive in the US in 2026, along with advanced batteries of its own creation for some of these future models.
