Honda has joined a growing number of major car makers changing
direction away from battery electric vehicle development in response to
slowing BEV sales. At a recent briefing in Tokyo Honda’s President
Toshihiro Mibe confirmed the company was re-evaluating its BEV
development plan up to 2030 by trimming 3 trillion yen from its previously
allocated EV budget of 10 trillion yen. It cited falling BEV sales behind the
move “necessitating a re-alignment of its automotive strategy that places
more emphasis on new generation, lower cost and more efficient hybrid
technology along with a greater focus on the North American, Japanese
and Chinese markets.” Honda targeting greater battery efficiency as well as
a 50 per cent reduction in manufacturing costs, suggesting the company’s
new e-HEV systems will be lighter with more parts commonality amongst
models. Its target 2.2 million sales by 2030. I’m David Berthon