Honda advertises EV but no hurry to abandon combustion engine
2023.03.03 12:09
Honda advertises EV but no hurry to abandon combustion engine
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – The top executive at Honda Motor Co. stated that combustion engines could last through 2040 and beyond, despite the company’s rapid efforts to catch up with electric vehicle competitors in global markets.
Toshihiro Mibe, the chief executive officer of the Japanese automaker, stated, “I’ve been in the engine development business for more than 30 years, so personally it’s a little threatening” regarding the company’s accelerating transition to electric vehicles. However, I must distinguish my personal feelings from the company’s best interests.
This includes setting up a separate business unit next month to oversee the growth of Honda’s EV and battery business, which could eventually include investing in charging stations like Tesla (NASDAQ:). Mibe mentioned Inc.’s Supercharger network in Marysville, Ohio, the center of the company’s operations in the United States.
He stated, “For our customers, the charging infrastructure is not at a location that it needs to be.”
Mibe went on to say that Honda is doing feasibility studies on everything from advanced batteries and chargers to rockets and aerial vehicles and new low-carbon e-fuels that could help keep combustion engines in performance cars, big trucks, and airplanes for a few more decades.
“As we move toward carbon neutrality, we are focused on electrification and fuel cells – those are the two core components of future mobility,” however, Mibe added.
Honda has been slow to follow Volkswagen AG (OTC:) and other larger rivals. to GM Corporation (NYSE:), by investing billions of dollars in the creation of electric vehicles and their batteries. It now intends to invest at least $40 billion through 2030 in order to increase sales of hybrid and fully electric vehicles to 40% by the end of the decade.
These investments include a $3.5 billion joint venture with LG Energy Solution to manufacture batteries in Jeffersonville, Ohio, beginning in 2025, for use in Honda’s upcoming North American EV factories.
In the meantime, Honda will acquire two brand-new electric SUVs from GM’s Spring Hills plant in Tennessee in 2024: the Honda Prologue and the Acura ZDX.
Mibe confirmed that Honda is working on its own EV architectures, the first of which will be available in the United States in 2026. Additionally, Honda is developing cutting-edge batteries of its own design for some of those upcoming models.
