April 13, 2022—Honda has announced that it's ramping up its investment in EVs, spending around $40 billion on its electrification efforts over the next 10 years.
According to a story by Yahoo! Finance, the company also says it plans to launch 30 EV models by 2030 with a production volume of 2 million vehicles a year. The aim is for electric vehicles to make up 40 percent of its fleet by the end of the decade,
Honda plans to introduce an ultra-cheap mini EV model in Japan by 2024 that costs around $8,000. It will also release the Prologue and Acura electric vehicles, both being co-developed with GM, in North America in the same year. In early April, Honda and GM announced they're working together to co-develop a series of affordable EVs based on a global architecture and GM's Ultium battery technology.
Honda has plans that don't involve GM, however, and is using part of its $40 billion budget to develop its own electrification platform. It's also exploring the possibility of teaming up with other companies for battery production. In addition, it's investing $343 million into building a demonstration line for solid-state batteries by 2024.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe says a big part of its electrification efforts is making sure it has a solid presence in China, which is currently the world's biggest EV market. Honda will launch 10 new models in China under its e:N Series branding by 2027. The company will also build plants in Guagzhou and Wuhan to manufacture its electric vehicles for the country.
