Honda to sell only electric, fuel cell vehicles by 2040

Japanese carmaker Honda Motor has set a target for battery-operated electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell EVs (FCVs) to make up 100pc of all its new car sales globally by 2040, as it looks to become carbon-free on a "tank-to-wheel" basis, chief executive Toshihiro Mibe said today.

Honda plans to tackle the challenge through a collective effort across its entire value chain. The ratio of EVs and FCVs to total new car sales is targeted to hit 40pc by 2030 and 80pc by 2035, Mibe said.

Mibe, the former head of Honda's research and development arm, became Honda's chief executive on 1 April in place of Takahiro Hachigo, who had held the position for six years.

Honda will strive to increase the EV/FCV ratio to 20pc of all new car sales in Japan by 2030, before further raising it to 80pc by 2035 and 100pc by 2040. But its automobile unit sales are expected to be fully electrified by 2030 when hybrid-electric vehicles are included, he added.

Honda's global car production dropped by 15pc on the year to 4.4mn units in 2020. Domestic car production fell by 13pc to 729,500 units last year. Honda last year launched the Honda e, its first mass-market EV.

Japan has pledged to sell only EVs, including hybrid electric vehicles and FCVs, by around 2035 as part of efforts to achieve the country's 2050 decarbonisation goal. The country is expected to further speed up decarbonisation efforts after premier Yoshihide Suga yesterday pledged to aim for a 46pc reduction in its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions from 2013 levels at the US-hosted virtual climate summit, compared with a previous 26pc reduction target.

By Rieko Suda