And yes, that includes motorcycles.
Honda president and CEO Toshisiro Mibe has announced that the manufacturing giant plans on producing only zero-emissions vehicles by the year 2040, and set some ambitious goals for the near future as well.
Among them is a pledge to curb 40% of its North American sales to zero-emissions vehicles by 2035, and then to double that number over the next five years with an 80% sales goal.
Zero-emissions doesn’t necessarily mean battery powered though. Fuel cell vehicles, or FCVs, will also play a part in meeting that ambitious goal. Honda has joined other vehicle manufacturers like Hyundai, Segway, and Toyota in their enthusiasm for hydrogen-powered transportation.
While no definite details have been released on the long-term plans for hydrogen, we do know a thing or two about Honda’s strategy for electric motorcycles.
Along with Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki, Honda is one of the “big four” who recently agreed to join forces in developing a universal “swappable” lithium battery back.
Specifics aren’t currently available, but we know the big four are working with the Japanese central government to establish a network of battery swapping stations. These stations will allow any electric vehicle using the universal batteries to simply drop in, remove the spent battery from their electric vehicle, and exchange it for a freshly charged battery for a fee.
Think of it like the propane tank exchanges we have here in the states at just about every gas station, convenience store, and shopping center.
Whether these infrastructure developments will carry over to the North American market is purely speculation at this point, but we do know a thing or two about Honda’s US strategy, as well. It was announced earlier this year that Honda had partnered with General Motors to have two crossover-style SUVs built from GM’s “Ultium” battery platform for sale in the US.
Currently, we’re expecting to see these Honda EVs (one from Honda and another from Acura) go on sale starting sometime in 2023 for the 2024 model year.
