Honda has revealed its electrification plans, and it will make the switch in 2030, but with a condition. The Japanese automaker will sell only electric cars in China from 2030. These cars will include hybrids and purely electric vehicles.
At the same time, Honda revealed five electric cars, with two being production and the remaining concepts. By 2026, Honda plans to release 10 EV models, although they would be limited to China. It will export the EVs from China eventually.
Honda has been slower than the rest of the industry in embracing electric vehicles, and it has only one purely electric model on sale. It had previously shared its plans to go 100% electric by 2040 but would rely heavily on Hydrogen Fuel Cells.
We already know Honda will release an electric model in 2024, named the Prologue. It will be based on the Ultium electric platform made by GM. Honda is approaching this cautiously, as it is planning for a 70,000 production run of the Prologue. Across all its models, Honda is looking at 500,000 purely electric vehicles per year by 2030.
In comparison, Tesla sold nearly 500,000 units last year and is on track to meet its 750,000 units target for this year.
But before the Prologue debuts, Honda will start selling two models under the ‘e:N Series’ brand. If you would like to know the meaning of ‘e:N Series,’ here is Honda’s explanation:
“The name ‘e:N’ represents Honda’s desire to energize people who are trying to do things based on their own initiative in this era of electrification. The ‘e:’ is from ‘e:Technology,’ the collective brand name for Honda’s electrification technologies with which Honda strives for carbon neutrality. The letter ‘N’ stands for ‘New/Next,’ representing new value creation for the next-generation of mobility.”
Under the new brand, Honda will sell the e:NS1, which Dongfeng Honda will produce, and the e:NP1 made by GAC Honda. They will be sold by dedicated e:N dealerships in major cities.
Honda has three concept vehicles under the brand: the e:N SUV, the e:N GT, and the e:N COUPE. If everything goes as Honda plans, it will start selling the concept EVs within the next five years.
For the batteries that will power these electric vehicles, Honda will collaborate with CATL. The company will also start deploying its Honda SENSING 360 driver assist feature in 2022, starting from China before going to the rest of the world.