Honda bets on hydrogen and solid-state batteries
With the European introduction of the new Civic, Honda has completed the first step of its electrification strategy. After all, every Honda is now available with an electrified powertrain. So it’s time for Honda to look ahead. Before the end of the year, Honda will launch three new models and the fierce Civic Type-R.
Honda says it will expand the European model range with three new models before the end of 2023. Besides the brand new Honda Civic e:HEV, that is. Among those newcomers is also a fully electric crossover.
Honda
We’ll start with that crossover: the e-Ny1. It is a fully electrically powered derivative of the HR-V. In China, in 2021, Honda presented the e-NS1 to be built by the Dongfeng Honda partnership to the world. Honda’s other Chinese alliance GAC Honda will sell the same model in slightly modified form as the e:NP1. The Honda e:Ny1 Prototype is very similar to its Chinese sister models. It is therefore not inconceivable that this electric HR-V alternative will also be built in China. The production version of the e:Ny1 Prototype will be released next year.
Honda’s new SUV between HR-V and CR-V
In addition, Honda will launch a completely new generation of the CR-V before 2023, a car that will be available in Europe not only with a hybrid powertrain, but also with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. The third new model is a brand new hybrid SUV in the C-segment. That car nestles itself between the HR-V and the CR-V. Honda shares well-known design sketches of its new model. Recently, the American branch of Honda announced the same car, although the SUV will be called HR-V in the United States. That is not the case here. Honda will also launch the Civic Type-R before the end of 2023. Given Honda’s pledge not to bring cars to the market without electrified powertrains, it seems that the Type-R is also getting some form of hybrid power.
Also in terms of technology, Honda has serious news. It is going to invest on a large scale in the development of solid-state batteries, exchangeable battery systems, CO2-neutral fuels and hydrogen technology. In the European market, among others, emission-free (electric or hydrogen) models must account for 40 percent of sales by 2030. By 2035, that share should already be 80 percent and by 2040, Honda says it will no longer sell a single car with a combustion engine worldwide. The brand has a taste for it and further announces that it wants to be completely climate neutral by 2050. Honda has also set a goal that by 2050 there will be no more fatal accidents worldwide involving the manufacturer’s passenger cars or motorcycles.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl