Honda has officially revised its electric vehicle strategy, walking back from its previous goal of having 30% of new product offerings be EVs by 2030 and cutting its electrification budget by 30% from the originally allocated 10 trillion yen ($68 billion).
Honda Australia CEO Jay Joseph clarified that "BEVs are not the goal, better electric vehicles are a pathway to achieving carbon neutral, not necessarily the only pathway," emphasizing that their ultimate target remains carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Japanese automaker has cancelled development of its planned 7-seater electric SUV for the US market, originally scheduled for 2027 as a competitor to the KIA EV9, citing changing US policies and slowing EV demand.
Instead, Honda is shifting focus to hybrid technology with plans to introduce 13 hybrid models including the upcoming Prelude, while developing an enhanced hybrid architecture featuring lighter weight, lower costs, and improved fuel efficiency.
According to reports from Nikkei Asia, Honda continues exploring alternative technologies including fuel cell vehicles and solid-state batteries, maintaining that multiple pathways exist to achieve carbon neutrality beyond battery electric vehicles alone.
