Honda accelerates electrification in the Chinese market and decides not to sell fuel-powered models after 2027

In a recent media interview, Sanae Seimura, deputy general manager of Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd., revealed that Honda will stop selling new fuel vehicles in the Chinese market after 2027, and will only launch electrified vehicles such as battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). This decision is based on the Chinese government's carbon neutrality goal and Chinese consumers' preference for environmentally friendly, intelligent and beautiful automotive products.

It is understood that Honda has formulated a global electrification strategy, planning to increase the sales of pure electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles to 40% by 2030, 80% by 2035, and 100% by 2040. In such an important market as China, Honda plans to complete the original 2030 goal three years ahead of schedule, which means that starting from 2027, all new models launched in China will be electrified models.

To achieve this goal, Honda has launched a new pure electric vehicle brand "e:N" in the Chinese market, and plans to launch 10 competitive pure electric models in the next five years. Among them, the first mass-produced models e:NS1 and e:NP1 have been officially released on October 13 this year and will be launched in the spring of next year. These two pure electric SUVs adopt the new intelligent and efficient pure electric architecture "e:N Architecture", which integrates high-efficiency, high-power drive motors, large-capacity, high-density batteries, pure electric vehicle-specific frames and chassis platforms.

In addition to these two mass-produced models, Honda also released three concept models: e:N Coupe concept, e:N SUV concept and e:N GT concept. These three concept cars respectively show Honda's future vision for different market segments and different consumer groups. They will also be launched in mass-produced models within five years and are expected to be exported to overseas markets.

It is worth mentioning that Honda is also constantly innovating in battery technology. In addition to continuing to advance the development of liquid lithium-ion batteries, it will also develop and launch a new generation of batteries such as semi-solid and all-solid batteries. These new batteries will help improve the endurance, safety and cost-effectiveness of electric vehicles.

Sanae Hiramura said that Honda will continue to provide power to everyone in the world who has mobility needs, thus adding infinite possibilities to people's lives. In China, Honda will continue to provide customers with attractive products while accelerating electrification.

According to statistics, China is currently the world's largest automobile market and the largest new energy vehicle market. In 2020, China's automobile sales reached 25.38 million units, of which new energy vehicle sales reached 1.36 million units, accounting for 5.4%. It is expected that by 2025, China's new energy vehicle sales will reach 6 million units, accounting for 20%.

In such a large and dynamic market, whether Honda's electrification strategy can succeed remains to be tested by the market and consumers. Honda not only has to deal with the pressure from the Chinese government on carbon neutrality and environmental protection, but also has to meet the needs of Chinese consumers for high-quality, high-performance, high-tech and high-aesthetic automotive products. At the same time, Honda is also facing increasingly fierce competition from local auto brands, as well as risks from market changes and uncertainties.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.