Honda announces investment of almost US$ 40 billion for electric vehicle fleet

Honda is joining the flood of global automakers spending tens of billions of dollars to go electric.

The Japanese company announced on Tuesday that it would invest approximately 5 trillion yen ($39.8 billion) to electrify its lineup over the next decade, including software and research and development.

The goal is to launch 30 new electric vehicle models, including two SUVs and a mini car, by 2030. The manufacturer also plans to increase production to more than 2 million EVs annually.

Honda is paying particular attention to the development of so-called “solid state batteries”, a power source that is intended to be lighter and faster to recharge and offer more travel range than the lithium-ion batteries traditionally used for electric power cars.

So far, the company has invested 43 billion yen ($343 million) in developing its own line of solid-state batteries, which it hopes to launch in the “second half” of this decade.

Meanwhile, it still relies on lithium batteries, which it currently receives from external partners.

In North America, Honda has agreed to acquire batteries from General Motors, although the Japanese company said on Tuesday that it has not ruled out the idea of ​​forming a joint venture to produce this technology with another partner.

In China, the Japanese company has a battery agreement with CATL, a market leader and supplier to Tesla.

Honda is joining the EV race later than many of its global rivals, which have announced similar multi-billion investments over the past two years. Unlike some, it also continues to bet heavily on hybrids as a transitional technology.

Volkswagen and Toyota each invested at least $35 billion in electric vehicles. Hyundai has pledged the same amount to prepare its lineup for the future, which includes investments in electric and autonomous vehicles.

Honda shares changed little on Tuesday in Tokyo, but fell 1.8% on the Nikkei 225 index.