Honda plans to launch two fully electric cars in
2018.
Honda is
taking aim at Tesla
and launching two electric cars by 2018.
Honda said in June that one of its upcoming electric cars will be
specifically for the Chinese market, and the company hinted in a
statement Tuesday that the other would be for the
European market.
Honda said in the statement that it will debut its Urban EV
Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in mid-September. The company
described the vehicles as “Honda’s first EV for Europe.” In June,
the company’s president and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, had only said
that the other vehicle would be made
for other regions.
Honda is aiming for two-thirds of its vehicles to be
electrified by 2030. The company said it plans to share more
details about how it plans to accomplish this in Frankfurt.
Currently, the company sells an all-electric version of its
Clarity in the US, but the vehicle only gets a range of about 89
miles per charge. The company has not yet revealed any details
about the upcoming concept car, but it’s likely the vehicle will
have a range exceeding 100 miles per charge.
Honda’s push to make fully electric vehicles marks a significant
shift for the Japanese automaker. The company had
previously focused on the development of hydrogen and hybrid
cars, betting these would be the vehicles of the future.
However, as more automakers jump into the electric car space and
countries like China strengthen regulations favoring electric
vehicles, the company has switched gears somewhat.
Last year, the company created a division
dedicated to developing EVs and in April, the company
announced that it planned on rolling out at least one electric car in
China in 2018.
In a way, the company is playing catch-up. Many automakers,
including Volkswagen, Ford, and Nissan, have already committed to
rolling out long-range electric
cars during the next few years. And GM already launched its
first all-electric vehicle, the Chevy Bolt, last
year.
What’s more, Tesla, the leader in the EV space, recently expanded
its offerings to include a mass-market vehicle, the Model
3.
Tesla
delivered its first 30 Model 3 vehicles in late
July.
Bryan Logan/Business
Insider
The Model 3 is a high-tech car with a range of 220 miles per
charge, priced at $35,000 before tax incentives.
Tesla delivered its first 30 Model 3 vehicles in July, and CEO
Elon Musk has said the company aims to produce some 1,500 units in
September and some 20,000 per month by December. Still,
though, the bulk of Tesla’s pre-orders will
be delivered in 2018, which is when the all-electric Honda
will become available in some markets.
Honda, like other automakers, is honing in on the Chinese market
to kickstart EV sales because the country is working to implement
regulations that would drive EV adoption. Basically, China wants
to set quotas for automakers so that electrified vehicles
make up at least a fifth of Chinese car sales by 2025.
Renault-Nissan announced on Wednesday that it will also be
tackling the Chinese market and plans to begin production of an
electric mini-SUV beginning in 2019. Earlier this month, Ford
announced it was launching a new brand in China for the
production of its electric car, and GM is already selling a
small all-electric car in the country for $5,300.
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