Honda Motor has promised to completely stop producing ICE vehicles by 2040. Thus, it became the first Japanese company to make such a claim. Automotive News wrote about this on June 23, citing the new head of Honda, Toshihiro Mibe, who has been acting since April.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who took office in September 2020, announced the country's movement towards carbon neutrality by 2050. According to him, companies that are the first to start active steps in this direction will receive a market advantage.
However, while Japan is far from its goals. Electric vehicles account for only 1% of the new car market. For comparison, in China this figure has already reached 6%.
So far, the Japanese company produces only one electric car - the Honda e. In March 2021, Honda announced its intention to release two mass-produced electric crossovers by 2024, based on the Ultium platform from General Motors.
Today, 56% of the manufacturer's income comes from the North American market, so the emphasis on "trains" for the US is quite reasonable.
Earlier in June, Honda announced plans to close its Sayama plant, which assembles the Legend sedan, Clarity hydrogen car and Odyssey midsize minivan. This is being done as part of a gradual reorientation towards the production of electric vehicles.
Plus, already in 2022, Honda will stop the production of gasoline cars in Europe: only hybrids and electric cars will remain there.
Honda is the first Japanese company to go completely electric
