Honda sets aside the electric vehicle and announces it will focus on hybrid models

The Japanese manufacturer has just announced its intention to reorient its investment strategy, reducing the company’s efforts in developing new electric models due to a drop in demand, and therefore paying greater attention to hybrids and motorcycles, sectors that in its view show promising growth.

As a result of this decision, Honda will cut its investment in electrification and software by 3 trillion yen by 2030, thereby adjusting to current market conditions that make it impossible for the company to reach its original goal of having pure electric models account for 30 percent of its total sales by the end of this decade.

Hybrid models will thus come to dominate the Japanese manufacturer’s lineup. From 2027 onward, the company will launch next-generation models. In total, there will be thirteen new hybrid models worldwide arriving over a four-year period. These vehicles will incorporate significant improvements over current models, such as a 10 percent increase in fuel efficiency and a 50 percent reduction in hybrid system costs compared with the 2018 models. Honda will thus focus on optimizing costs thanks to the new e:HEV platform and will also seek to improve the company’s profitability by expanding its motorcycle business.

Honda maintains its goal of reducing road fatalities to zero by 2050

On the other hand, in terms of safety, Honda is developing a next-generation advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which will be implemented in high-end models, both electric and hybrid, starting in 2027. Meanwhile, in the Chinese market, where electrification and smart technologies are advancing rapidly, the company will collaborate with Momenta Global Limited, a startup specializing in autonomous driving, to create an ADAS adapted to road conditions in China.

In the motorcycle sector, the Japanese manufacturer plans to take advantage of the current growth of the global market, which according to its forecasts will reach 60 million units in 2030. In the last fiscal year, Honda sold 20.57 million motorcycles, representing close to 40 percent of the global market and making it the sales leader in 37 countries. Although Honda will accelerate the electrification of its motorcycles, it will also improve the efficiency of its internal combustion models and expand its range of models compatible with flexible fuels.