Honda is committing to its electric future with a massive NZ$58.6 billion investment as it aims to release 30 electric vehicle (EV) models by 2030.
The Japanese car company says it's allocating 5 trillion yen (NZ$58.6 billion) to "further accelerate its electrification" as part of the 8 trillion yen total (NZ$94 billion) it expects to spend on research and development in the next decade.
By 2030, the company said it plans to produce more than two million EVs per year, and to do that, it had to make organisational changes, including alterations to how it divides its business areas.
Traditionally these areas have been named after products, e.g. motorcycles, cars, power products. That's now been changed to new core areas such as electrified products and services, battery, energy and software/connected technologies.
The "key challenge" for EVs was the procurement of batteries, the company said.
To that end, in the near future it anticipates strengthening partnerships with existing liquid lithium-ion battery suppliers, like General Motors in North America and CATL in China.
Longer term, the company's plans are more self-sufficient.
"Honda will further accelerate its independent research and development of next-generation batteries," it said.
"For the all-solid-state batteries it currently has under development, Honda decided to build a demonstration line, investing approximately 43 billion yen (NZ$504 million), with a goal to make it operational in Spring 2024.
"Honda aims to adopt its next-generation batteries to models to be introduced to the market in the second half of the 2020s."
In terms of vehicles, Honda will first introduce two mid-to-large-size EVs in North America by 2024, with 10 new EVs in China by 2027.
In the second half of this decade, assuming the popularisation of EVs, the company will introduce the best models to a global audience. That will include everything from commercial use mini-EVs to flagship models, it said.
Honda is the latest car company to boost its spending with a view to embracing an electrified future.
It was also separating its EV unit from its legacy combustion engine business, in an attempt to catch up with market leader Tesla.
Luxury car maker Maserati has also announced plans to offer electric versions of its entire car range by 2025, with a target of going fully electric by 2030.
Meanwhile iconic car manufacturer DeLorean, famous as the time machine in the Back to the Future movie series, is planning an all-electric comeback as consumers look to ditch petrol-powered cars.
