Honda unveils new plans for EV

JAPANESE automaker Honda Motor has announced plans to launch a new electric vehicle ( EV) series in 2026, as it plays catch- up with global rivals in the shift to battery- powered cars.

Japan's second- biggest car maker has been slow to step up EV sales, lag ging European and U . S. competitors such as General Motors and Volkswagen, while facing a challenge from newer rivals such as Chinese BYD.

Honda unveiled its "Honda 0 Series" and two concept models at the CES trade show in Las Vegas that it hopes will help it reach its goal of having battery- powered and fuel- cell vehicles make up all its new car sales by 2040.

The automaker aims to roll out the first models of its new series by 2026, Honda executives told a December media briefing in Tokyo ahead of the announcement. The series will be launched globally, starting from the North American market.

The executives did not share at that briefing details of the series, such as pricing or how many models the company will launch as part of it and how many vehicles it seeks to sell.

Battery- powered vehicles accounted for less than 0.5 per cent of Honda's worldwide s ales of about 2.8 million cars over the first nine months of 2023, coming to about 11,000 vehicles, according to company data.

It sold about 10,400 of those, or around 93 per cent, in China, but none in North America.

Honda has previously said it plans to build two million EVS globally a year by 2030 and has laid out a target to introduce 30 models powered solely by a batter y by that year. Canadian officials are meeting representatives of Honda this week, a government source said, following a news report that the carmaker was considering building an almost 2 trillion yen ($ 13.9 billion) electric vehicle plant in the country.

"There is a possibility that we will build a plant in Canada," Honda Chief Executive Officer, Toshihiro Mibe was quoted by the Nikkei Business Daily as telling reporters on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

One concept model it showcased at the CES trade show was the Saloon, a sedan that was likely to seat four or five passengers.