Honda CEO admits Chinese EV makers are well ahead, but says it will respond with strong electrification plan

Honda CEO admits Chinese EV makers are well ahead, but says it will respond with strong electrification plan

Honda has outlined plans to further accelerate its journey into electrification, saying that this is paramount in order to catch up with the competition. Admitting that it is behind in the EV race, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said that the automaker was caught by surprise by the slew of Chinese EVs on display at Auto Shanghai 2023.

“They are ahead of us, even more than expected. We are thinking of ways to fight back. If not, we will lose this competition. We recognized we are slightly lagging behind, and we are determined to turn the tables,” he said when delivering the automaker’s annual business briefing late last week, as Automotive News reports.

He said Honda executives didn’t expect to see so many local brands flooding the exhibition hall with advanced EVs of all kinds. Honda had three electric SUVs on show at the event, the e:NS2 and e:NP2 Prototypes, which will go on sale in China in early 2024, as well as the e:N SUV concept, of which a production version is expected by late 2024.

Honda CEO admits Chinese EV makers are well ahead, but says it will respond with strong electrification plan

Mibe said it was apparent that Chinese automakers had made big advances during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the world was largely cut off from China by travel restrictions and quarantine measures. Honda COO Shinji Aoyama echoed Mibe’s comments. “We were overwhelmed by the Chinese,” he said.

As a response to that, the automaker said it will be rolling out a slew of new fully-electric models in key markets such as the US, China and Japan, with much of the activity accelerating from 2025. It also reiterated its ambition to produce more than two million EVs annually by 2030.

The first models in the US will be the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, both underpinned by GM’s Ultium platform, in 2024. A mid- to large-size EV model based on Honda’s original dedicated EV platform will go on sale there in 2025. The company said it will further strengthen its alliance with GM, co-developing a series of affordable electric vehicles which will go on sale in 2027 and beyond and continuing to explore a broad range of collaboration topics.

In Japan, an EV model based on the N-One will go on sale in 2025, and two small-size EV models, including a SUV type, will enter the market in 2026. As for the three China-only models mentioned previously, they will form part of the 10 new EV models that will be introduced in that market by 2027.

The automaker is also planning to ramp up activity in the field of batteries. In the near-term, this will involve sourcing batteries from GM for its US models, CATL for its offerings in China and Envision AESC for models sold in its domestic market.

It is also delving deeper into research and production in this area. This includes investing and jointly developing semi-solid-state batteries with SES AI Corporation and working with GS Yuasa on high-capacity, high-output liquid lithium-ion batteries. It said it plans to have a demonstration line for the production of all-solid-state batteries running by 2024, with market introduction sometime in the second half of the decade.

Honda CEO admits Chinese EV makers are well ahead, but says it will respond with strong electrification plan

The company is also working with trading company Hanwa towards ensuring a stable procurement of crucial elements such as nickel and cobalt in the medium- to long-term, and added it is also exploring ways to utilise recycled battery resources in the future.

Software and electronics will also be an area of focus, the automaker said. It is developing an original vehicle operating system with the aim of adopting this starting from the mid- to large-size EV for the US market in 2025, and it is also expanding research and development in the areas of automated driving/advanced driver-assistance systems and connectivity services.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • BarangNaik on Apr 30, 2023 at 4:47 pm

    No need la low tech battery just keep making petrol cars and be a specialist like Rolex

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 4
    • Komen alternatif on Apr 30, 2023 at 5:21 pm

      Why aim so low? Aim for patek.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 5
    • smart watch association on May 01, 2023 at 12:04 am

      mechanical analogue watch becomes museum article exhibit once earth day night rotation speed increases soon

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 2
      • swiss watch collector scalper group on May 01, 2023 at 8:09 pm

        we bag you to stop disrupting our expensive hobby and trade

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
    • newme on May 02, 2023 at 2:16 pm

      a $50,000 Rolex cant even keep accurate time.
      Every week I need to adjust it 1-2 minutes.
      It’s garbage when used as a time-keeping device.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
      • rotten tomato on May 02, 2023 at 2:29 pm

        my RM49 Casio can keep accurate time up to 5 seconds deviation in 1 year. The world is a lie!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • You bought a fake one. People so easily get scammed nowaday.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Honda CEO admit they are behind while many readers here complaining this and that.

    that is why they are just a nobody reader.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 1
  • President Xi on Apr 30, 2023 at 9:56 pm

    China numba one!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 7
  • Sohai on May 01, 2023 at 11:43 am

    Mibe-san, you could always do a OEM rebadge to Honda… they will let you… it works.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
  • Admit weaknesess then only will improve.Not like the stupid Perodua

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • newme on May 02, 2023 at 2:14 pm

    japan has a history of being stubborn to change, and continue to favour “old and tested” methods. This can sometimes be strength, but othertimes their biggest weakness. Anyone remember Japanese mobile phones? They used to be cutting edge compared to the rest of the world. Today, their mobile device market has entirely crashed, save for certain big brands (ie sony) that continues to produce them. Then for photographers, do you remember when Japanese cameras were popular? Today, most have fizzled out, save for 1-2 big names (again Sony). Alas this is what thats being observed in their car-making industry. Japanese are stubborn to “let go” the internal combustion engine. They are reluctant to change, while the rest of the world has moved onto new technology. I enjoy Japanese made products, and it would be sad to see Japanese cars being yet another victim of japanese stubborn-ness.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 0
    • insan Maidani on May 02, 2023 at 2:32 pm

      Yes brother. I used to love Japanese laptops but nowadays no more. Japanese makers are too slow to adapt shift in market. Being market leader but cannot accept change, you are committing suicide as a business.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
    • datuk roti john on May 02, 2023 at 4:13 pm

      Perodua sticking with Japanese car makers might change too. Look at Proton, finally making real profit after 30 years, simply by ditching japanese and went chinese.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
 

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