Honda Solidifies Its Existing Businesses

Jason R. Sakurai
by Jason R. Sakurai

Honda Motor Company President Toshihiro Mibe’s first press conference, held April 23rd, was where he committed to solidifying Honda’s existing businesses.

Honda is working to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and activities by 2050. Zero environmental impact not only for its products but their entire lifecycle. Areas of concentration include carbon neutrality, clean energy, and resource circulation.

Honda’s power pack swappable batteries will expand electrified cars’ and motorcycles’ range. Infrastructure-linked smart power operations encourage renewable energy use.

Mibe said Honda will be hydrogen-proactive, among a variety of energy sources. Carbon-neutral fuels are part of an energy multi-pathway.

Honda continues the eMaaS concept, where the company supports mobility freedom and renewable energy use expansion. This includes the use of mobile power packs, large-capacity batteries in EVs, and fuel cell systems growth.

Honda’s battery-electric vehicle (EVs) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCVs) ratio in all major EV markets will be 40 percent by 2030, 80 percent by 2035, and 100 percent by 2040. Meeting these targets will require the entire chain’s participation. Honda set high goals to clarify what they want to accomplish. Honda employees worldwide accept the challenge of trying to reach these goals.

The North American target EV/FCV sales ratio is 40 percent by 2030, 80 percent by 2035, and 100 percent by 2040. Leveraging the General Motors alliance, Honda will pursue electrification by taking advantage of the strengths of both companies. Honda and GM are developing two large-sized EV models using GM’s Ultium batteries. They are planning to introduce these vehicles as 2024 models, one from Honda and the other from Acura.

Honda will launch a series of new EV models using e:Architecture, a new EV platform led by Honda. These EV models will be introduced in North America, and then in other parts of the world.

In China, Honda’s EV/FCV unit sales targets are identical to that of North America. Honda has introduced EV models using local resources, and will further accelerate this approach going forward. Strengthening their collaboration with CATL for batteries is one example. 10 Honda-brand EV models will be introduced in five years. The first of these models based on the Honda SUV e:prototype, will go on sale in spring 2022.

In Japan, Honda’s EV/FCV unit sales target starts out at a modest 20 percent by 2030, then catches up with the rest of the world in 2035. They expect 100 percent of their automobile unit sales in Japan by 2030 to be electric. The first to debut K-car segment EV in 2024, Honda is progressing in the electrification of both hybrid and EV K-cars.

A local production and local procurement approach to sourcing batteries in Japan, this will also contribute to growth domestically. Addressing mobility services (MaaS), Honda is working on the Cruise Origin, an electric self-driving vehicle they are developing with GM.

Maintaining EV competitiveness has meant all-solid-state battery research as the next-gen high-capacity, low-cost power source. Production technology verification will start this year. Honda is accelerating this research to make all-solid-state batteries available in the second half of the 2020s.

Honda’s motorcycle industry leadership includes not only electrification but also improving gasoline engine fuel efficiency, biofuel utilization, and other strategies. Electrification of motorcycles required consideration of batteries separately from the motorcycle. In developed countries, Honda will pursue electrification utilizing their mobile power packs, targeting B-to-B (business-to-business) and B-to-G (business-to-government) customers.

For personal use, Honda is enhancing their product lineup. They will make battery-swapping stations available, and ensure user convenience by making them swappable with other makes. Honda has established a consortium with other Japanese and European motorcycle OEMs to develop technology standards for swappable batteries. Expanding mobile power pack applications beyond motorcycles to power products and micro-mobility products is another of Honda’s goals.

Introducing GYRO e: and GYRO CANOPY e: business-use bikes this year, Honda will also have three new personal use EVs with engine sizes below 50cc and below 125cc by 2024.

Hydrogen is expected to be a popular renewable energy source. While continuing to collaborate with GM, Honda wants to reduce costs and start a hydrogen base by FCV lineup expansion. They also want to use FC systems for a wide range of applications, including commercial trucks, stationary, and movable power sources.

Striving for zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda products globally by 2050, the major challenge is how to eliminate motorcycle collision fatalities, especially in emerging countries. Strengthening research on safety technologies that enable motorcycles and automobiles to safely coexist will lead the way towards a collision-free society.

Motorcycle collision fatalities often involve automobiles. Honda’s application of its omnidirectional ADAS (advanced driver-assistance system) to all new automobiles they introduce in developed countries by 2030 will help reduce that number. Using their Level 3 automated driving technologies, it will further enhance ADAS intelligence, which increases the percentage of collision patterns covered.

Regardless of sales revenue fluctuations, Honda will invest a total of $5 trillion Yen ($45,999,250,000 U.S.) in research and development over the next six years. The company will take the necessary measures, including alliances, to further develop digital technologies as quickly as possible. They will also be proactive in building a strong electrification value chain.

Ambitious? Not for a motorcycle company that came ashore in the U.S. in 1959.

[Images: Honda]

Jason R. Sakurai
Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Apr 28, 2021

    Quote- Striving for zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda products globally by 2050. They can strive and dance and talk all they want but this is an impossibility with so many factors at work- road irregularities, cost cutting, software and sensor glitches, weather etc to name a few. Instead they should be aiming at a reduction which is far more realistic.

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Apr 28, 2021

    "Ambitious? Not for a motorcycle company that came ashore in the U.S. in 1959." Yes it is - it's ambitious PR drivel. For starters, swappable batteries is a failed idea. FCVs are energy upside down, and hydrogen is going nowhere unless some brave company gives a Tesla-like effort to make it viable, including the mfr and distribution of the fuel. And even Tesla doesn't have to produce and distribute the power for their Superchargers.

  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
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