With several territories across the world planning to phase out internal combustion engine cars in favor of zero-emission electric vehicles, most carmakers are hedging their bets on electric vehicles. Rising greenhouse gas emission levels coupled with climate change have underscored the need for clean, emission-free transportation.
Since EVs run on electricity and produce zero emissions at the tailpipe, they are a good replacement for fossil fuel vehicles. As such, automakers have invested billions of dollars in developing electric vehicles in the past couple of years and plan to spend billions more through the decade.
Japanese carmaker Honda has chosen to go a slightly different way. Rather than go all-in on battery electric vehicles (BEV), Honda is betting on hybrid cars. Unlike BEVs, which are solely powered by a rechargeable battery pack, hybrid cars have both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
Earlier last week, Honda announced that it would hedge its bet on hybrid vehicles that feature an electric-petrol system while it waits for public charging infrastructure to develop. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe says that rather than simply switching to zero-emission EVs, the automaker has to consider factors such as green-energy penetration and living environments.
As it stands, electric vehicles aren’t 100% clean. The mining operations that provide minerals used to build EV batteries cause significant damage to the environment and have had numerous human rights issues. Furthermore, the electricity used to charge EV batteries is often generated by burning fossil fuels.
According to Mibe, Honda will focus on vehicles powered by a battery and a small combustion engine for the coming decade. He notes that the company will still phase out conventional combustion engines.
This announcement came soon after the Japanese automaker pledged to also invest $40 billion in electric cars over the next decade. Last week, the company announced that it would manufacture millions of affordable electric cars for the Chinese and North American markets in partnership with General Motors from 2027.
Regardless, you won’t be seeing plenty of fully electric Hondas on the road in the near future. Honda currently has only one electric model on the road and doesn’t have plans to release a new one onto the market any time soon. With automakers around the world racing to secure battery supplies and ramp up EV production, Honda has had trouble sourcing EV batteries.
Consequently, Honda will leverage General Motors’ Ultium batteries and may partner with a still-unnamed party to produce EVs in the North American market. Honda will source batteries for electric vans from Envision AESC in Japan and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) in China.
As Honda looks to hybrids, other players, such as Kandi Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KNDI), have a different focus. The world awaits what will happen when all these efforts converge to revolutionize the auto industry.
About Green Car Stocks
Green Car Stocks (GCS) is a specialized communications platform with a focus on electric vehicles (EV), as well as other emerging market opportunities in the green sector. The company provides (1) access to a network of wire services via NetworkWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible, (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets (3), enhanced press release services to ensure maximum impact, (4) social media distribution via the Investor Brand Network (IBN) to nearly 2 million followers, and (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions. As a multifaceted organization with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, GCS is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, GCS brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. GCS is where news, content and information converge.
To receive SMS text alerts from Green Car Stocks, text “Green” to 888-902-4192 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)
For more information, please visit https://www.greencarstocks.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.greencarstocks.com/Disclaimer
Green Car Stocks
Los Angeles, CA
www.greencarstocks.com
415.949.5050 Office
[email protected]
Green Car Stocks is part of the InvestorBrandNetwork.
