- Honda ambitiously plans to electrify 100 per cent of the European sales by 2025.
- The Honda e Concept made its public debut at the Geneva stage.
- Honda announced the development of an energy management business for Europe.
Honda took to the stage at the Geneva Motor Show 2019 to officiate its electrification plans. The Japanese carmaker announced its rather ambitious intention to shift 100 per cent of its European sales to electrified powertrains by 2025.
Previously in 2017, Honda targeted two-thirds of its sales for electrification by the middle of the next decade. This was a part of Honda’s global electrification shift, announced as part of its 2030 vision. Speaking on the occasion, Tom Gardner, senior vice president, Honda Motor Europe, said, “Since we made that first pledge in March 2017, the shift towards electrification has gathered pace considerably. Environmental challenges continue to drive demand for cleaner mobility. Technology marches on unrelenting and people are starting to shift their view of the car itself”. After the launch of the CR-V hybrid early this year, the carmaker expects the full hybrid technology to play a key role in meeting its aims of 100 per cent electrification by 2025.
The near production ready Honda e Prototype made its public debut at the Geneva stage. Based on the 2017 Urban EV Concept, the e Concept is positioned to be an urban commuter when it hits the streets in 2020. The cutesy little car is slated to have a range of over 200km and a ‘fast charge’ functionality providing 80 per cent range in just 30 minutes. Honda has already opened reservations for the e Prototype and has received 15,000 registrations till date.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Honda has been working with EVTEC technology to further develop its bi-directional Honda Power Manager technology (compatible with battery-electric vehicles, such as the Honda e Prototype). And they plan to offer a commercial version of it in the coming years as well.
At the Geneva stage, Honda also announced an agreement with two external partners: Moixa and Ubricity. Moixa is a company who specialises in ‘resource aggregator’ technology that allows customers to benefit from sharing the control and capacity of their EV battery. And Ubitricity is a leading supplier of charging solutions, including an innovative approach to on-street charging in urban areas.
