Honda to launch seven global EVs under its ‘0’ Series’ – 100% electrification by 2040 target maintained

At Honda’s recent business briefing, the Japanese carmaker outlined its electrification initiatives and investment strategy for the coming years. To kick things off, the company said it has not changed it belief that electric vehicles (EVs) are the most effective solution in the area of small mobility products such as motorcycles and automobiles.

As such, it is maintaining its electrification target to make EVs and FCEVs (fuel cell electric vehicles) represent 100% of its global vehicle sales by 2040. Looking at the trend from a longer-term perspective, Honda is confident that the EV shift will continue to proceed steadily,” said Honda’s director, president and representative executive officer (global CEO), Toshihiro Mibe.

“Without getting too caught up in the current changes in the situation, Honda must look ahead to the period of EV popularisation, which will begin in the second half of the 2020s and build a strong EV brand and a strong EV business from a medium- to long-term perspective,” he added.

The company is also sticking to its plan announced three years ago to make EVs and FCEVs represent 40% of its global auto sales by 2030, and to produce more than two million EVs. To support the planned production, Honda will establish a vertically-integrated EV value chain with a central focus on batteries.

The targets set for this initiative include reducing the cost of batteries procured in North America by more than 20% compared to what’s current by 2030. This will be backed by the joint venture with LG Energy Solution, which will see an EV battery plant with an annual capacity of 40 GWh begin operations in 2025.

The company is also working with GS Yuasa in Canada to develop EV batteries for in-house production. Honda will then proceed to internalise production by producing cathode materials with POSCO Future M, and separators with Asahi Kasei, at our respective new joint venture plants to be constructed. A competitive business structure will also be set up with the aim of reducing overall production cost by approximately 35%.

On the matter of products, the Honda 0 Series – a global EV series – will consist of seven models to be launched globally by 2030 covering various segments. These vehicles will follow the company’s M/M (Man Maximum, Machine Minimum) concept and are expected to be about 100 kg lighter compared to its initial EVs.

The first of the 0-branded EVs will be introduced in the second half of the 2020s and come with a digital UX (user experience), system-on-chip (SOC) for AI, comprehensive ADAS and a core ECU, the last of which consolidates multiple ECUs to form a single “brain” for the entire vehicle.

For the Chinese market, a total of 10 Honda-brand EVs will be introduced by 2027, with EVs set to represent 100% of automobile sales in China by 2035. The Ye series has already been unveiled there to join the e:N series currently available.

In Japan, the N-Van e:, a commercial-use small EV, will go in sale in the fall, while this year will see the introduction of electric motorcycles powered by the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: (MPP). Within fiscal year 2026 (FY2026), two more vehicles with MPPs will be launched.

As for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), Honda says there is still strong demand for such models in the market, so it will continue to further advance performance and enhance the line-up globally.

Naturally, these initiatives require a fair bit of investment, which is why Honda is planning to invest approximately 10 trillion yen (about RM300 billion) in resources over a 10-year period through FY2031.

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