Japan’s Honda Motor on Saturday unveiled the second model of its new electric vehicle (EV) line exclusively for China, targeting the fast-growing battery car segment in the world’s biggest auto market. The Japanese automaker said last year that it plans to launch EV models under a new brand called the “e:N Series” over the next five years with partners GAC and Dongfeng Motor. It started selling the first model in China in April.
“Honda is transforming itself into an electric brand in China with a range of unique and diverse electric mobility products that only Honda can offer,” Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in a statement. A key challenge for Honda and its main Japanese peers, Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor, is to catch up with rivals such as Tesla that have established themselves in the EV sector.
Honda set a goal of launching 30 EV models worldwide and producing around two million EVs annually by 2030 earlier this year. Last year, it said it would introduce only electrified vehicle models in China after 2030, including battery electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells or gasoline electric cars. Its two joint ventures, GAC-Honda and Dongfeng-Honda, plan to build new electric-only assembly plants, with production slated to begin in 2024.
