Honda aims for 100% EV sales by 2040, zero road fatalities by 2050

[TruckElectric]

Honda has unveiled an ambitious new electrification strategy
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Like Volkswagen, Toyota, Jaguar and other big names in auto-manufacturing, Honda is making moves away from fossil fuels and internal combustion engines, declaring a new strategy to sell only electric vehicles in major markets by 2040. This will start with vehicles built on a new EV architecture later this decade, and also incorporates some lofty ambitions around road safety.

Honda's new commitment to electrification was announced by CEO Toshihiro Mibe on Friday, and forms part of the company's wider goal of achieving carbon neutrality across its entire operation by 2050.

In the second half of the 2020s, the company plans to launch a new lineup of electric vehicles based on an entirely new platform it calls e:Architecture. These battery electric-vehicles will be introduced in North America first and other markets thereafter, and will add to the pair of large EVs the company is developing together with GM, which it plans to introduce in 2024.

Honda and GM also teamed up on hydrogen fuel cell technology back in 2017, and this also forms a key part of the new electrification strategy. The company hopes that fuel cell and battery-electric vehicles can combine to make up 40 percent of its sales in "all major markets of electrification" by 2030, 85 percent by 2035, and then 100 percent globally by 2040.

On top of this, Honda says it will strive for zero road fatalities involving its cars and motorbikes by 2050. It hopes improvements to the intelligence of its driver-assist technologies in combination with educational programs around road safety can help reduce the road toll involving its vehicles.

The Japanese automaker also plans to invest five trillion yen (around US$46 billion) into research and development around these safety and environmental initiatives over the next six years.


SOURCE: NEW ATLAS

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[TruckElectric]

GM's Ultium-Based Honda And Acura Confirmed

Two large Ultium-based BEVs will be followed by models based on Honda's new e:Architecture EV platform.
Honda has officially announced two new large-sized EV models for the North American market that will be introduced as model year 2024 vehicles.

Those two new all-electric cars - one from the Honda brand and one from the Acura brand - will be the fruit of a strategic partnership with General Motors.

The Japanese manufacturer will use GM's Ultium batteries. There are no words about other components (like drive units), but we guess it might be more than just battery packs.

"Honda and GM are jointly developing two large-sized EV models using GM’s Ultium batteries, and we are planning to introduce these models to the North American market as model year 2024 vehicles, one from Honda brand and the other from the Acura brand."

Earlier this year, we heard rumors that GM will also produce Honda and Acura EVs - the first potentially in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico (currently engaged in Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox), while the second at GM's plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee (alongside the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq).

GM has recently announced the second Ultium Cells lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plant in the U.S. (in Spring Hill, Tennessee), which would support not only GM's but also Honda's plans.

We assume that the partnership with GM would allow Honda to jump-start its more serious electrification efforts at a minimized cost.

Ultium Cells LLC Battery Plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee - Rendering

e:Architecture EV platform
In the long term, Honda rather would not like to be left behind, relying only on partners. This is why the next step, in the second half of the 2020s, will be the introduction of e:Architecture, "a completely new EV platform led by Honda."

The plan is to launch a series of new EV models based on the e:Architecture platform. Those new cars will be sold first in the North American market, and then to other regions of the world.

At this point, we don't know any details about the e:Architecture, but it will have to be good, as by 2030 the company intends to increase BEVs share in its total sales volume to 40%.

"Starting from the second half of the 2020s, Honda will launch a series of new EV models which adopt e:Architecture, a completely new EV platform led by Honda. These EV models will first be introduced to the North American market, and then to other regions of the world."

SOURCE: INSIDEEVs

 

[Crissa]

GM is going to have to build alot more capacity than they have.

-Crissa

 

[Cybertruck Hawaii]

I’ll stick with Tesla for a genuine electric vehicle. The other companies are just retrofitting a gasoline model with a electric motor in it. They sure are not going to spend money on a new stamping die for a few electric vehicles.

 

[Red61224]

Honda dropped the ball with the Insight years ago and now they are trying to catch the train that has already left the station. Late to the party wouldn't you say?

 

[HaulingAss]

I’ll stick with Tesla for a genuine electric vehicle. The other companies are just retrofitting a gasoline model with a electric motor in it. They sure are not going to spend money on a new stamping die for a few electric vehicles.

I'm not sure they are even doing that! To me it looks like they are just using words to convince us they are trying to go electric as quickly as possible.

My observation is they are using this narrative to delay government mandates. If all major makers are committed to going electric ASAP then we don't need government mandates, right? ?

 

[Crissa]

If all major makers are committed to going electric ASAP then we don't need government mandates, right? ?

Carrot and stick, man. Trust but verify.

-Crissa

 

[TruckElectric]

Over 2,000 Honda staff apply for early retirement amid EV shift
That represents 5% of domestic workers as combustion engines lose favor

As Honda moves toward electrification, it is also retiring some of its older staff in favor of younger workers more in tune with new technologies.
Nikkei staff writersAugust 5, 2021 18:02 JST

TOKYO -- Over 2,000 employees at Honda Motor applied for early retirement, Nikkei learned Thursday, as the Japanese automaker restructures its workforce to gear up to make more electric vehicles.

Honda's move is the latest in the trend among automakers to move away from the production and sales of internal combustion engines.

Those employees account for around 5% of Honda's full-time staff in Japan. The early retirement program is open to those aged between 55 and 63 and offers a package of up to three years' wages on top of retirement pay.

A Honda spokesperson declined to comment.

Honda, which opened the program in April and completed it in July, has reported the application status to its labor union. Although Honda had not set a target, the number of applications has far exceeded its initial estimate of 1,000. It is the first time in about 10 years that Honda has offered an early retirement package. About half of the applicants this time are under 60 and some have already retired at the end of July.

Honda's move is part of plans to reduce reliance on older staff as it speeds up the development of electrification and autonomous driving. In the longer term, the early retirement program will reduce fixed costs and improve profitability as its expenses in research and development increase due to the shift to EVs.

It announced in April that it plans to sell only new EVs and fuel-cell vehicles by 2040. The automaker sees younger workers more in touch with new technologies as a way toward meeting that goal.

Honda is expected to record an extraordinary severance charge of some tens of billions of yen for this fiscal year through March 2022. Despite this, Honda on Wednesday revised up its annual net profit forecast to 670 billion yen ($611 million) for the year ending March 2022, up 2% year-on-year. Although sales are picking up in the U.S. and other markets, the operating profit margin for its mainstay automobile business remained sluggish at 1% in the last fiscal year.

Other automakers are also making the same personnel moves. In 2019, Nissan Motor said it would cut more than 10,000 jobs worldwide by March 2023. As the shift to EVs accelerate around the globe, particularly in Europe and the U.S., automakers are seen restructuring their workforce away from the focus on internal combustion engines.

Honda has been carrying out structural reforms in recent years, such as closing plants in Japan and overseas. At the end of March, Honda and its subsidiaries had 40,000 employees in Japan, excluding temporary workers and part-time workers.

It is expected to open its early retirement program over the next few years, with the ceiling age set at 59.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Au...taff-apply-for-early-retirement-amid-EV-shift

 

[TruckElectric]

And if competition gets tough enough they will move it again in 2 years!!!


Honda ready for quicker shift to all-electrified lineup, CEO hints
2040 goal poised to move up five years with proposed EU ban on gasoline autos

A Honda e electric car is displayed at the Brussels Motor Show in January 2020. The automaker may hasten the phaseout of gasoline vehicles if the European Union approves new emissions rules. © Reuters

KOTARO ABE, Nikkei staff writerJuly 18, 2021 16:45 JST

TOKYO -- Honda Motor is prepared to shift to selling only electrified vehicles earlier than planned if the European Union tightens regulations sooner, President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe said Friday in the first comment by a major Japanese automaker's top executive on the EU proposal.

"If the rules change, we'll have no choice but to respond," Mibe told reporters. Honda's transition to selling only electrified vehicles "could be expedited," he said.

Mibe pledged after taking office in April that the company would remove all conventional autos from its global sales mix by 2040. Electrics and fuel cell vehicles will replace them. But the European Union now proposes to essentially ban sales of new internal combustion autos by 2035.

"We'll assess the suitability of our company's electrification plan, and we'll make adjustments if necessary," Mibe said. Honda sells roughly 100,000 vehicles a year in Europe, accounting for 2% of its global auto sales.

Environmental regulations around the world "are only going to gather speed," said Mibe, who noted that "the EU and Canada are going to ban internal combustion vehicles in 2035."

"The regulations will become stricter by the day," he said. "Of course, we won't be able to do business if we don't match international trends."

For carmakers, electrics are an expensive undertaking. Developing a single model costs around 50 billion yen ($454 million). Building it on converted production lines costs 10 billion to 15 billion yen per plant. Manufacturing the batteries demands hefty investment on top of research and development.

"Investments in production, and investments in automotive batteries in particular, will be very substantial," Mibe said when asked how Honda will pay for the switch to all-electrified vehicles. But he did not detail investment plans.

"We're calculating the investment amount based on unit sales, so we'll make the announcement when the time comes," he said.

Honda's electrification plan will be adjusted as necessary, says CEO Toshihiro Mibe. (Photo by Kotaro Abe)

Stellantis plans to invest more than 30 billion euros ($35 billion) in electrification and software through 2025. Volkswagen has decided to spend about 35 billion euros on battery electric vehicles by then, while General Motors aims to invest $35 billion in electrics and automated driving.

Honda plans to spend 5 trillion yen on R&D through March 2027, up 10% from the previous six-year period. But the company has not said how much of this will go to electrics.
To sell electric vehicles in Japan, "kei cars will be key," said Mibe, referring to a category of minivehicles. Honda plans to launch an electric kei in 2024.


"We're analyzing kei car users to see what types of EVs they'll embrace," he said.
Honda has decided to retire the Clarity, its sole mass production fuel cell vehicle, by year-end. But it will continue developing fuel cell vehicles, according to Mibe.
"We'll definitely put out the next vehicle," he said.

Even as established automakers race to develop electrics, competitors are entering the fray. Apple has long been expected to release its own, for example.

Mibe sees the new entrants as a "threat" but welcomes the challenge.

"I look forward to competing with them on the value of Honda's newly made EVs," he said.
Honda and GM are partnering in a wide range of areas, including electrics and automated driving. The latter demands excellence in not only artificial intelligence, but also driving performance, Mibe said.

"The cooperation with GM will give us a huge advantage in terms of outclassing the competition," said Mibe, who spoke of developing the partnership further.
Mibe also touched on Honda's expansion into the space business, which he had announced in April.

"Combustion technology that powers rockets, as well as materials technology, were originally a domain of automobile makers," he said. "The only thing that changed is the area the technology is applied."

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Au...ker-shift-to-all-electrified-lineup-CEO-hints

 

[Crissa]

Good on Honda having a good program to get the older workers to step aside.

Once of the economic problems in the US is that Boomers weren't retiring, which was (until the last ten years) a drag on our economy. Of course, most don't have good pension packages, which is another problem.

But kids need jobs, too! And they can't take the reins until the older generation steps down.

-Crissa

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