Honda, the Japanese car manufacturer, is making waves in the automotive industry with its recent announcement of new initiatives to speed up the process of electrification and decrease its sales regions. The company is launching a new EV unit to drive innovation and will be cutting its sales regions from 5 to 3 by April 2021. The move comes as Honda is looking to compete more effectively with other global automakers that are investing heavily in electric vehicles. In this blog post, we will explore how Honda’s latest moves will affect the auto industry, what this means for the future of electric vehicles, and why it matters for consumers.
Honda creates EV unit
Honda has created a new business unit focused on electric vehicles (EVs), as the company looks to speed up its electrification efforts. The new EV unit will be responsible for developing and selling EVs, as well as working on related technologies such as batteries and charging infrastructure. Honda says that by creating this dedicated EV unit, it will be able to better meet the needs of customers who are looking for more environmentally-friendly vehicles.
The new EV unit will be led by Kohei Hitomi, who is currently in charge of Honda’s powertrain development. Hitomi has been with Honda for over 30 years and has worked on a number of the company’s most popular models, including the Civic and Accord. In his new role, Hitomi will be responsible for increasing Honda’s presence in the EV market, which is currently dominated by Tesla.
Honda says that it plans to sell 1 million EVs globally by 2030, and that it will offer a dedicated EV model in every market where it sells cars. The company is also working on developing a new generation of battery technology that it says will improve range and performance, while also being more affordable.
Types of EVs
There are currently three types of EVs available on the market: battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). BEVs are powered solely by electricity, while PHEVs have both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. FCEVs run on hydrogen and have a fuel cell instead of an engine.
Honda plans to focus its EV efforts on BEVs and PHEVs. The company believes that these two types of EVs will make up the majority of the market in the coming years. Honda is already mass-producing BEVs and PHEVs, and it plans to introduce more models in the future.
The company’s decision to cut sales regions is also part of its plan to speed up electrification. By consolidating its operations, Honda hopes to reduce costs and bring EVs to market faster.
Sales regions
Honda Motor Co. said it is creating a new unit dedicated to electrification and will reduce the number of sales regions globally as part of a restructuring to speed up decision-making.
The Japanese automaker also said it would consolidate its powertrain business, which includes engines and transmissions, into a single unit. The changes come as Honda looks to catch up with rivals in the race to develop more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.
The new electrification unit will be responsible for developing and selling battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and related technologies. It will be led by Hiroto Kanazawa, who is currently in charge of Honda’s engineering operations in North America.
The consolidation of the powertrain business will create a more efficient organization and help Honda better respond to rapidly changing market conditions, the company said. The new unit will be headed by Koichi Kondo, who is currently in charge of Honda’s engine development operations.
