Honda ready for quicker shift to all-electrified lineup, CEO hints

[Klaralven]

TOKYO -- Honda Motor is prepared to shift to selling only electrified vehicles earlier than planned if the European Union tightens regulations sooner, President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe said Friday in the first comment by a major Japanese automaker's top executive on the EU proposal.

"If the rules change, we'll have no choice but to respond," Mibe told reporters. Honda's transition to selling only electrified vehicles "could be expedited," he said.

Mibe pledged after taking office in April that the company would remove all conventional autos from its global sales mix by 2040. Electrics and fuel cell vehicles will replace them. But the European Union now proposes to essentially ban sales of new internal combustion autos by 2035.

...

For carmakers, electrics are an expensive undertaking. Developing a single model costs around 50 billion yen ($454 million). Building it on converted production lines costs 10 billion to 15 billion yen per plant. Manufacturing the batteries demands hefty investment on top of research and development.

"Investments in production, and investments in automotive batteries in particular, will be very substantial," Mibe said when asked how Honda will pay for the switch to all-electrified vehicles. But he did not detail investment plans.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/Honda-ready-for-quicker-shift-to-all-electrified-lineup-CEO-hints

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I'm concerned that I won't find a place to re-charge.

I have on-the-street parking, no garage.

[mitch96]

2. Agree. Us Americans are spoiled with a 330-350 mile range and a 10 min fillup.

Until the powers that be address these issues, I'll stick with a hybrid. Gas, hydrogen, natural gas, propane, ETOH what ever that fills the bill. YMMV
m

[csziggy]

3. Well, Honda is going hybrid right now

I suspect our next car will be a CRV hybrid.

Right now we have our old truck - 1999 GMC Suburban 2500 for heavy hauling, my husband's 2014 Prius V for most of the driving, and my 2018 Honda Fit which is straight gas but which gets as good of mileage as the Prius. I'm already looking at possibilities for when the Prius needs replacing and so far the CRV looks like the best option.

Much of our out of town driving is down to Central Florida - 300 miles, which is farther than the current electric vehicles can do without a recharge. We would not be willing to stop for an hour or more to re-charge when taking a 4-5 hour trip. That's ridiculous and not practical since we generally do not stop for meals along the way.

[mitch96]

5. Wow, crazy similarities.. I had a 2017 Prius V and a Honda Fit at one time and I live in

Central Florida!! Next ride will probably be a RAV4 Hybrid. That sucker with hybrid/gas set up has almost 220 horsepower!!! And the mpg numbers are just south of 40 mpg... It's like having your cake and eating it too!
My friend has one (2019) and says it's a rocket ship.. I'm a Honda guy but this thing ticks all the boxes for me. Plus if you are a bit handy changing out the battery packs in not too difficult just time consuming.. A real DIY project and less expensive than the dealer..
m

[csziggy]

6. Test drive the RAV thoroughly before buying

My sister has several friends that have gotten them and hated them.

For my tastes they are a little big, especially since we've got the Suburban for big hauling. The Prius V is just the right size for most of our driving. I only got the Fit because there are times I need to run errands by myself and parking the Suburban is a nightmare.

We had a 2006 Prius that we liked but the batteries went bad. After two replacement sets that only lasted a year each the computer burned out. It would have cost far too much to put in another battery pack and a new computer so we sold it to the mechanic. He could scrounge replacements parts and do the work on his own so could fix it for a reasonable price.

That's why if the batteries go on the Prius V we will not do it ourselves - neither of us is that mechanically inclined and at our ages (69) the heavy lifting is beyond us. The decision at that point will be if we repair the V or go to a different hybrid. That's why I'm looking at what is/will be available.

[mitch96]

7. "several friends that have gotten them and hated them. " interesting. First negative I have heard

My friend who I got the Prius√ from has the RAV4 Hybrid and loves it... I knew about the gas tank problem but that was it.. The gas milage on the Prius √ was not so hot either... "Only" 36 to 39 mpg and I'm not a speed demon.
There are a bunch of youtube vids on changing the batteries. That is my only gripe would be to have a battery pack go out after a year. Toyota and the Prius as one of the most reliable autos out there. It's interesting how Toyota and others I guess do the batteries. They are actually a few hundred small cells about the size of AA batteries from what I have gathered. I have an e-bike and that's also how my bike battery pack is set up.. YMMV
m

[csziggy]

8. I think mostly they did not like the leather seats - but that is a trim package, not the car

We just drove home in the Prius V and had to mess with the odometer - I wanted to know the total mileage which didn't show. My husband is averaging about 40-44 mpg, which is not bad.

My sister, who is a speed demon and drives a LOT, gets closer to 35 mpg. I think ours is better since we live 15 miles from town so start out with rural highway driving every time we drive.

A friend used his Prius V as a Uber vehicle and got great mileage - but he just got his totaled. Not sure what he will do for a replacement since he has no money for it. I'm not sure if his insurance will pay off since the cop decided to call it a no fault accident. Geico seems to be ready to screw him. He was on a round about and someone tried to merge in front of him.

I'll have to look at the YouTube videos about replacing the battery pack. I suspect by the time we need to we will be ready to replace the car anyway. Heck, maybe I'll give it to my sister so she will have another Prius to run into the ground!

[lagomorph777]

9. 300-400 miles is quickly becoming the norm for electrics.

Fast charging is also making great leaps; not quite 10 minutes yet, but headed that direction.