Honda Aims to Go All-electric by 2040

Published on April 23, 2021 in Electric by Guillaume Rivard

Following the lead of many other car companies that plan to sell electric vehicles only within the next 10-15 years, Honda has just announced it will eliminate all internal combustion engines from its new vehicles.

The Japanese automaker’s goal is to make battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles to represent 100 percent of its North American sales by 2040, progressing from sales of 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2035.

This comes as a bit of a shock. Remember, back in May 2020 Honda Canada boss Jean-Marc Leclerc said EVs serve a political agenda and cannot be the main focus for meeting the targets of the Paris Accord.

After the two electric SUVs jointly developed with General Motors and slated to arrive in late 2023 (as 2024 models, including one under the Acura brand), Honda will launch a new generation of EVs based on its own platform, called “e:Architecture,” beginning in the second half of this decade. Great news: Canada and the U.S. will be prioritized before the rest of the world.

Said platform will be available with all-solid-state batteries that deliver major efficiency and range improvements, Honda also announced. The company is now conducting independent research and will undertake the verification of production technology using a demonstration line starting this fiscal year.

As for hydrogen, while continuing its current collaboration with GM, Honda will strive to reduce costs and realize a “hydrogen society” by expanding its lineup of FCVs and by using fuel cell systems for a wide range of applications, including commercial trucks and stationary and movable power sources.

As part of a larger announcement today, Honda global president and CEO Toshihiro Mibe said he sees the reduction of the company’s environmental impact and realization of safety advances to protect human lives as the two major challenges facing Honda.

The ultimate goal is to achieve full carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050, as well as zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda automobiles and motorcycles globally by 2050. Speaking of which, current Honda Sensing and AcuraWatch technologies will evolve to more advanced driver-assistance systems in the near future.