Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe admits that executives who flew to Auto Shanghai had a rather unpleasant surprise: the Chinese brands are ahead of them.
Speaking at Honda’s annual business briefing, Mibe admits that Chinese EVs are “ahead of them [Honda], even more than expected.” He says that Chinese automakers made big strides during the coronavirus pandemic resulting in offerings that are becoming sophisticated and advanced.
Of course, Mibe and his team isn’t going to take this lying down. This has rekindled the fire in the belly for Honda, and recognizing that they’re slightly behind now, they’re determined to turn the tables.
This starts out with a redefined global brand slogan. The Power of Dreams slogan will now have a new tagline, “How We Move You” and three key words, “Create, Transcend, Augment.”
Mibe says 2025 will be a turning point for Honda’s global electrification strategy—a strategy wherein the brand will ditch the internal combustion engine altogether by 2040 in favor of full-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
To do so, Honda will launch its in-house dedicated EV platform in North America for mid- and large-sized SUVs (E&E architecture). In China, meanwhile, they will start phasing out gasoline cars by 2027 with the introduction of 10 new EVs. By 2035, it will only sell EVs in China, an earlier timeline compared to the rest of the world. For its home market of Japan, Honda will launch an EV-powered kei car by 2025 and two other small-sized EVs by 2026.
Honda will also funnel back all profits generated by their gasoline- and hybrid-powered vehicles into developing EVs and other so-called “technologies of tomorrow.”
This includes the development and demonstration production of game-changing solid-state batteries by 2024 which will be introduced in production vehicles by the second half of 2020s.
Honda has also entered into a collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to ensure a stable supply of semiconductors, a vital part of the increasingly sophisticated vehicles.
With the new ship supply, Honda EVs starting with the 2026 model year will be equipped with a new automotive operating software that the company is developing internally. The software will enable a new user interface for drivers and passengers as well as more advanced driver-assistance systems and technologies.
Japs focused too much on ICE and hybrid cars where they have a very clear advantage. But were caught later dear pants down on EV race. They can still catch up on mid range and high end EV's, but on low cost EV's it will surely china will dominate.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if you go to Honda PH. Every car feels like a 90s car. The interior design feels too old and generic for some reason.
ReplyDeleteMas lalo na Mitsubishi, all cars on their lineup have a bland interior.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why are Japanese automakers hard to give up on ICE cars. Is it because they're making a lot of money from them? Toyota used the term "kaizen" or continuous improvement, but why are they now playing catch up?
ReplyDeleteIt's not just in EV technology, the japs are falling behind in other aspects too. Design, interior quality, features, and almost everything else that makes someone love a car. It can't all be "reliability and parts availability" forever, you gotta keep up with the times too, you can't just lock all the bells and whistles to the top trims anymore, not when these Chinese cars offer you those and more at more competitive prices.
ReplyDeleteLet's see if the other jap brands continue the complacency.
Some 3 years ago, while inside MIAS, sitting inside several cars on display. I got this feeling that Japanese cars are beginning to feel like China cars from the first decade of this century. Meanwhile Korean cars already exudes the Euro car feel. After only few years in the business, China cars are ahead not only in design but also technology, thanks for joint ventures. While there will continue to be bashers, only the market and time will be the ultimate judge of this.
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