Japanese automaker Honda revs up on EVs, aiming for lucrative US, China markets

abcnews.go.com:

Japanese automaker Honda is reaffirming its commitment to electric vehicles, investing 10 trillion yen, or $65 billion, through fiscal 2031

TOKYO — TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Honda reaffirmed its commitment to electric vehicles Thursday, saying it will invest 10 trillion yen ($65 billion) through fiscal 2031 to deliver EV models around the world, including the U.S. and China.

“Honda has not changed its belief that EVs are the most effective solution in the area of small mobility products such as motorcycles and automobiles,” the Tokyo-based company said in a statement.

By 2030, battery EVs and fuel cell EVs will make up 40% of Honda Motor Co.’s global auto sales, and it will have global production capacity for more than 2 million EVs, it said.

The so-called “0 Series,” a key part of Honda’s EV strategy, will be a totally new EV series created from “zero,” Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe told reporters in an online presentation.

The 0 Series will be introduced in North America in 2026 and then rolled out globally, with seven models launched by 2030. In China, Honda will introduce 10 EV models by 2027, with 100% of its auto sales there EVs by 2035.

“We will become a frontrunner in changing lifestyles to attain sustainability goals, not wait for someone else to tackle them,” Mibe told reporters.

Despite some talk of a slowdown in electric vehicles in some markets, the move toward EVs remains solid in the long run, becoming dominant in the latter half of the 2020s, according to Honda, which makes Acura and Civic sedans and Gold Wing Tour motorcycles.

Honda’s determination to pursue battery and fuel-cell EVs appears to contrast with domestic rival Toyota Motor Corp.’s more varied or “multiple” powertrains approach,