The Japanese automaker, Honda, said, on Tuesday, that it would invest nearly $40 billion into electric vehicle technology over the next decade as it worked towards switching all sales away from traditional fuel cars.
Global auto giants had been increasingly prioritising electric and hybrid vehicles, with demand growing for less polluting models as concerns about climate change grew.
Honda said in a statement that it planned to launch 30 EV models by 2030, with an annual production volume of more than two million units.
The company said that it would allocate around five trillion yen ($39.9 billion) over the next 10 years “in the area of electrification and software technologies to further accelerate its electrification.”
The investment would be the latest step in its push to have electric and fuel cell vehicles account for 100 percent of all sales by 2040, a target it announced a year ago.
Honda and Japanese tech conglomerate, Sony, announced last month they would start a new company to develop and sell electric vehicles, with sales of their first electric model expected to begin in 2025.
At present, around 10 percent of European car sales are EVs, and the United States figure is just two percent.
But demand was growing, and other major automakers including Honda’s Japanese rivals were investing money and resources into electric vehicles.
Earlier this year, the auto alliance grouping which includes Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi Motors promised to offer 35 new electric models by 2030 as it announced a total investment of $25 billion in the sector.
Toyota, the world’s top-selling carmaker, had also recently hiked its 2030 electric vehicle sales goal by 75 percent, aiming to sell 3.5 million EVs a year from then.
AFP
