Honda will launch 30 EV models by the year 2030 with a production volume of more than 2 million vehicles a year, the company said during a live briefing on Monday evening.
Over the next ten years, the Japanese automaker said it will spend 40 billion dollars on electrification, which includes building its own architecture and exploring new growth opportunities.
Over the next decade, Honda will invest around 64 billion (8 trillion yen) in research and development, and an additional 80 million (10 billion yen) per year in startups that could help the automaker to expand its business and shift from selling products alone to offering combined solutions.
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Honda will rely on external funding methods as needed. Honda said last month that it would issue $2.75 billion in Green Bonds, which will be used for the development and production of zero-emission vehicles. Honda said it would phase out gas-powered cars by the year 2040.
Honda covered a lot of ground on Monday, including plans to develop batteries, the commercialization of its mini EV and more.
Honda plans to launch two new sports EV in Japan.
Honda is planning to introduce a mini-EV model for commercial use at an $8,000 price range in Japan by 2024. Honda will begin to roll out personal use mini-EVs and EV SUVs after that. Japan lacks the charging infrastructure needed to roll out wide-scale EV deployment, so Honda is offering this car for commercial use first.
By the same year in North America, Honda will introduce two mid-to-large size EV models, which are currently being developed with General GM, at prices that are cost-competitive with ICE vehicles.
Last week, Honda announced a partnership with GM to co-develop electric vehicles in North America using GM's Ultium platform that will cost around $30,000.
The EV production line will be built in North America.
Mibe doubled down on Honda's previous commitment to launch 10 new EV models in China under the e:N Series, with two models set to go on sale this year. Honda is planning to build an EV plant in Guagzhou and Wuhan to support production in one of its most important markets.
The launch of two electric sports models, a specialty and a flagship model by mid-decade is unclear, but it is possible that these cars would be as affordable as others Honda is hoping to launch soon.
The Ultium architecture and EV platform will be utilized by Honda, but the automaker will build its own architecture by beefing up its software capabilities. The Honda e: Architecture will be an EV platform that includes both a hardware and software layer.
Honda sees the potential for the software-defined vehicle to bring in revenue through third-party applications. Mibe said that the application layer on top of the vehicle operating system can be continuously updated over-the-air.
Mibe wouldn't name the names of the people Honda is considering creating a North American joint venture for battery production outside of its partnership with GM. The goal of the automaker is to ensure stable procurement of liquid batteries in the region, as well as in China and Japan, its other two main markets. Honda wants to strengthen its relationship with CATL in China and procure batteries for its mini EV from AESC in Japan.
Honda is investing about $343 million into building a demonstration line to accelerate its independent battery research and development. Honda hopes to begin production in the spring of 2024 and use its next-gen batteries into models after that.
Mibe said that Honda is on track to achieve its 10% reduction target for global automobile production. The company has been able to tighten its business structure despite the issues of the Pandemic and the Semiconductor shortage.
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