©Reuters. Honda will allocate 58,660 million euros in a decade to electrify
Tokyo, Apr 12 (EFE) .- The Japanese Honda Motor (T:) announced on Tuesday an investment of 8 billion yen (about 58,660 million euros) during the next decade for the development of electric vehicles, of which it hopes to launch about 30 models by 2030.
More than two-thirds of the amount, approximately 5 trillion yen (36.66 billion euros), will be specifically allocated to the area of electrification and software, with the aim of “further accelerating its electrification,” the company detailed in an online presentation.
“Honda plans to launch 30 EV (electric vehicle) models by 2030 with a production volume of more than 2 million units per year,” according to a new strategic plan unveiled today.
To do this, the Japanese company plans to introduce at least 10 electric models on the market during the first half of this decade, including two currently under development with the American General Motors (NYSE), and several EV minivehicles in Japan.
The company sees its alliance with General Motors as key to introduce new “affordable” electric vehicles from 2027 to help it meet its goal of marketing 30 models by 2030.
For its production, Honda is planning to build a plant in the cities of Guangzhou (Guangzhou) and Wuhan, as well as a production line in an unspecified location in North America.
The president and CEO of Honda, Toshihiro Mibe, recalled in the presentation that when he took office in April 2021, he did so with the purpose of electrifying all Honda activities by 2050, a goal “not easy to meet”.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the electrification of its operations, Honda will diversify its supply of batteries.
For the time being, it will continue to obtain these devices through its alliance with General Motors, although, on the sidelines, it is “exploring the possibility of creating a joint venture for the production of batteries,” he said without offering more details.
It will also maintain its collaboration in this area with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Japan’s Envision AESC.
The Japanese automaker revealed that for the second half of the decade it intends to boost independent research and development of its next-generation batteries and build its own demonstration line of its solid-state batteries currently under development.
For this, it will allocate 43,000 million yen (about 315 million euros), “with the aim of being operational in the spring of 2024” and the goal that its new batteries “are introduced to the market in the second half of the decade of 2020”.
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