Written by / Zhang Ou
Edited / Tu Yanping
Design / Shi Yuchao
On April 12, Honda Motor Corporation announced that it will spend 5 trillion yen (about 253.4 billion yuan) over the next 10 years to electrify products and develop software, aiming to launch 30 new electric models worldwide and increase production capacity to 2 million units per year by 2030.
It has not been long since the second-largest Japanese automaker has officially announced its cooperation with Sony and General Motors, and this time it has released a 10-year plan to increase the weight of money. In the tide of electrification, CEO Mibu Toshihiro, who has only been in office for one year, has shown his boldness and boldness to the fullest.
At a briefing at Honda's headquarters, he described the plan: "We will take a multi-pronged approach to achieve our goal of a full line of gasoline-free products by 2040. "On the one hand, we will continue to deepen our cooperation with strategic partners in the near future to achieve scale and reduce costs. On the other hand, develop your own in-house technology to accumulate value for long-term development.
After the news, Honda's stock shrugged off a 1.8% decline in the Nikkei 225 (N225) on the day.
Honda Motor Corporation CEO Toshihiro Mibe held a briefing in Tokyo on April 12 on its electric vehicle strategy
(Source: Bloomberg)
On March 23, Honda announced that it had reached its goal of the end of 2022 in the European market ahead of schedule – the latest Honda Civic hatchback debuted, becoming the last piece of the puzzle of the brand's European electrification lineup.
In addition to the new generation of Civic, Honda confirmed that it will further expand its Electrification product line in Europe in 2023 to create a broader product lineup. The new model plans include an all-electric B-Class SUV based on the e:Ny1 prototype; a C-class hybrid SUV; and finally the all-new CR-V, which will offer full hybrid and plug-in hybrid system options in Europe for the first time.
North American, Chinese and Japanese production lines for electric vehicles
Yasuhira Takeuchi, the new honda executive vice president, presented the roadmap for electric vehicle production lines in other major markets at the briefing.
The 30 new electric models aimed at launching by 2030 will be a complete product lineup, from mini-cars for commercial use to high-value-added flagship models.
"We will launch products according to the characteristics of various markets around the world, such as our most important electric vehicle markets in North America, China and Japan," he said. ”
In Japan, Honda expects to launch a commercial light electric vehicle in early 2024, priced at about 1 million yen (about 50,000 yuan). Various other personal models will be introduced, including mini SUVs.
Toshihiro Mibe said Honda also plans to launch two all-electric sports cars in the mid-2020s. One of them is the flagship model with a mid-engine, and the successor to this NSX is likely to wear the Acura badge in the United States. Honda calls the other car a "pro" model, which looks taller.
Trailer silhouette of the flagship model▼
In China, the key core of Honda's ambitions is the e:N series, Honda's first electric car in China, with the company's iconic "H" logo.
Over the next five years, Honda plans to launch 10 models in China, spearheaded by the e:NS1, which opened pre-sale on March 18 and the e:NP1 Polar 1, which was officially released on March 29. At the same time, Honda has pledged that all cars sold in China after 2030 will be electric vehicles.
In view of this key global market, Honda also plans to build specialized electric vehicle plants in Guangzhou and Wuhan.
In North America, it will launch two models currently under joint development with GM by 2024, namely the Honda Prelude in early 2024 and the first electric car under Honda's Acura brand.
In addition, the target of 2 million electric vehicles per year in 2030 is expected to account for about 40% of the total global production plan of 5 million vehicles by that year. Under this premise, Honda hopes to achieve an operating margin of 7%, which is 5.5% higher than the expectation for the just-concluded fiscal year of March 31.
e: NP1 Polar 1▼
(Source: Honda China's official Weibo)
Honda sells about 4.5 million vehicles worldwide each year, and in the 25 years since the first Honda EV Plus was sold in 1997, only 32,649 pure electric vehicles have been sold, and nearly half (14,324) of them came from 2021.
The limited edition EV Plus, a squat three-door minicar, honda's first electric vehicle, was discontinued in 1999.
Fortunately, it's making good progress on the hybrid. The star model Honda Insight is a good start to success in this field. Insight has sold 3.91 million vehicles over the years, including 561165 gasoline-electric hybrids in 2021.
Mibu toshihiro stressed at the briefing that this is by no means the end of the hybrid, and the hybrid model will continue to be one of the most powerful weapons in Honda's entire product line in the future.
Multi-pronged approach
In addition to the launch of new models of its core products, Honda also hopes to shift its business from non-recurring hardware sales to recurring service sales that combine hardware and software. Simply put, Honda wants to make as much profit from charges for in-car services and subscription features as it does from selling vehicles.
"In 2030 and beyond, pure electric vehicles will be popularized." "We will have small, medium and large platforms and cover all market segments based on these three platforms," Mibu said. ”
One of these platforms is a mini and ultra-small electric vehicle platform developed for Japan and Asia; the other is a mid-size electric vehicle platform with GM Ultium battery technology that is being jointly developed with General Motors; and the third is an internal e:Architecture framework, which will support large vehicles, particularly those developed for North America and China.
Software-centric e:Architecture is expected to launch in 2026.
e:Architecture▼
(Source: Honda China's official Weibo)
In addition, the indispensable battery is of course also in the development plan.
Honda expects to invest 43 billion yen (about 2.2 billion yuan) to build a demonstration line for the production of all-solid-state batteries in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Production will begin in the spring of 2024, with the hope of bringing this lighter, more energy-intensive battery to market by 2030.
At the same time of research and development, Honda will still purchase Ultium lithium-ion batteries from GM, while exploring the possibility of joint ventures in other battery production in North America; in China, it will cooperate with CATL, which is also providing batteries to Tesla China; and in the Japanese domestic market, Honda will obtain batteries for the new series of mini electric vehicles from Envision AESC, which is also a battery supplier to Honda's competitor Nissan Automobile.
Honda will also include replaceable batteries as part of its future power strategy.
Use partnerships as a bridge for development
On the electric vehicle track that you catch up with, in the face of a dominant Tesla, in order to share technology and experience and save costs, "win-win cooperation" is becoming an industry trend.
On March 4, Honda, which is undergoing a complete corporate transformation, announced that it has joined hands with technology giant Sony to establish a joint venture. Honda contributes its expertise in bodybuilding and aftermarket services, while Sony brings knowledge in imaging, sensing, telecommunications, networking and entertainment technologies.
The new joint venture will plan, design, develop and sell "high value-added" electric vehicles, which are expected to begin selling in 2025.
Toshihiro Mibe said the new venture with Sony will be differentiated from the Honda brand and its existing electric vehicle strategy.
On April 5, GM and U.S. Honda jointly announced a new 2027 product goal of bringing affordable "economical" electric vehicles to consumers, with the first models scheduled to be available in North America in 2027, starting at less than $30,000.
Honda is developing its own next-generation electric vehicle platform and advanced solid-state batteries on the road, and partnerships with GM and Sony can be seen as important bridges. The partnership has bought time for Honda to get product and technical help faster.
Honda's ultimate goal is to phase out the internal combustion engine by 2040 and reborn as a carbon-neutral brand.
As a top priority, the 5 trillion yen spent on product electrification and software research and development rightfully accounts for the vast majority of the recent 8 trillion yen (about 405.6 billion yuan) total R&D budget. Of this, about 3.5 trillion yen (about 176.7 billion yuan) will be used for research and development expenses, and another 1.5 trillion yen (about 76.7 billion yuan) will be invested.
In March, Honda issued $2.75 billion in green bonds to fund the development and production of electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. At the promotion, it said it would consider issuing more securities to fund its electrification spending.
Obviously, $253.4 billion is just the beginning.
This article was originally produced by Automotive Business Review
For reprint or content cooperation, please contact the instructions
Illegal reprints must be investigated
Scan the code to join the reader's WeChat group
Communicate about cars