Honda expands vision towards electrification and safety

MANILA: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. held a press conference on April 26 to discuss the progress it has made toward its business transformation and electrification.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. President Toshihiro Mibe and Executive Vice President Shinji Aoyama led the event.

Honda aims to achieve zero environmental impact and zero fatal traffic collisions involving Honda cars and motorcycles to let people enjoy the joy and freedom of mobility. In doing so, Honda aspires to become a company that inspires many people to pursue their aspirations and move society forward.

Honda recognizes the following areas as the five main factors for the advancement of mobility:

• Carbon neutrality of power units
• Energy management system that enables the use of power units as an energy source
• Resource circulation
• AD (Automated Driving)/ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance System)
• IoT (Internet of Things)/Connected

Honda has set a target of reaching a global electric vehicle and fuel cell electric vehicle sales ratio of 100% by 2040. To this purpose, Honda targets to produce more than two million electric vehicles yearly by 2030.

In North America, Honda will officially launch the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, which is being co-developed with General Motors, in 2024. Meanwhile, a mid- to large-size electric vehicle that uses the new E&E architecture will go on sale in 2025.

In China, Honda will release the e:NS2 and e:NP2 in early 2024. Before the end of 2024, mass production models based on the e:N SUV xù concept model will be launched. The e:N SUV xù concept model was introduced at the recently held Auto Shanghai event. Honda will release a total of 10 new electric vehicle models in China by 2027, including the three aforementioned models. Honda aims to make electric vehicles 100% of its vehicle sales in China by 2035, ahead of other markets.

In Japan, a mini-electric vehicle model that is based on the N-Van will hit the market in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, an N-One-based electric vehicle will be launched in 2025. Two small-size electric vehicles, one of which is an SUV, will go on sale in 2026.

To keep up with the expansion of its electric vehicle lineup, Honda will start providing vehicle charging services. Honda plans to launch an energy business that makes use of the power supply capability of electric vehicles for home recharging. This will be based on the Honda SmartCharge, an electric vehicle charging service currently being offered in North America. For public charging, Honda will partner with providers of convenient and dependable charging networks.

Honda management came to the conclusion that the company needed to clarify its raison d'être, or what it really wants to achieve, as well as the “value proposition” of the company, which extends beyond its business strategies, such as electrification and digitalization, in order to continue to be seen as a company that society wants to be around in the midst of the industry's “once in a hundred years transformation.” Based on this insight, Honda added a new tagline and three keywords to the current Honda Global Brand Slogan, The Power of Dreams.

The company is going to build “the mobility Honda dreams of” to encapsulate the fundamental value of all mobility products and services — to enable people to go beyond the boundaries of time and place and unlock their every possibility. This initiative is driven by visions and the inherent motivation of each and every person working at Honda. Honda aims to become “The Power of Dreams” of more people by developing the mobility it envisions. That is how Honda will contribute to the development of the society.

Photo from Honda

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